A Guardian's Past
by chattingchick1
Summary: Elyon returns to Heatherfield and the Guardians all wonder why. The reason could be deadly to all of them if they're not careful. And unknown to them, some people they'd least expect are involved...
1. Elyon's Reappearance

Here's my first W.i.t.c.h. fanfic! I thought it was pretty original idea since I haven't seen any of the same idea in the category! Hope you like it! 

I have read all 13 books that have come out so far(and will get the next one ASAP!), so I do check on details to make sure I have names spelled right and such. And, no, I don't have the comics, only the books, so don't mention any spoilers! I live in the US. If you don't want any spoilers for the books, do not read this fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h. - That means the books or its characters! I don't know who does own it but I know I don't.

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**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 1: "Elyon's Reappearance"**

Irma flicked her finger in the air and the water in the bathtub spiraled up her finger. Irma smiled. She liked having a secret that only her and her five other friends knew about.

As she got out of the bathtub, she made the water evaporate. _Better not leave it in!_

Irma quickly slipped into a blue and pink outfit and walked down the hallway. Before she walked down the corner, she stopped suddenly and slowly peeked around the corner.

Irma gasped. _What are they doing here again?_

Sure enough, Agent Maria Medina, aka Small Fry, and Agent Joel McTiennan, aka Big Guy, were sitting at the dining room table sipping on a glass. They had a serious, but determined, expression on their faces.

_The last time they were here, they wanted to know about Elyon's disappearance! What do they want now?_

Irma walked around the corner with a frown, "Dad, what are Ms. Medina and Mr. McTiennan doing here?"

Mr. Lair smiled, "Why the frown, Irma? It's good news! Agents Medina and McTiennan found your friend, Elyon!"

Irma's frown quickly turned into a gaping mouth, "Wha...?" _He's got to be joking! Elyon's in Meridian! She overturned Phobos and took over as queen!_

Mrs. Lair nodded, "Yes. They found her in the basement of her own house! Her house has been deserted for months and she all a sudden appears in her basement. Agents Medina and McTiennan came here because you and your group of friends used to hang around her before her disappearance. They thought you might know where she has been."

"But... But..." Irma was speechless. _Elyon must have found that portal we never closed in her basement! But the real question is why is she here in Heatherfield? Is something wrong in Metamoor?_

Agent Medina spoke up, "I know it's hard to believe, isn't it? But shes right here." The woman pointed to the chair beside her.

It was definitely Elyon. The blue gown she had worn as queen hung on her as if she had fought her way here. She looked up at Irma's shocked expression, "I'm OK, Irma. I'll tell you later." She forced a smile.

"Elyon, you're coming with me." Irma said forcefully as she pulled Elyon to her room and closed the door.

"Elyon, what are you doing back in Heatherfield? Is something wrong in Metamoor?"

Elyon slowly nodded and frowned, "Yes, but I'd prefer to tell you when Cornelia and the others are here. That way, I don't have to repeat it."

Irma nodded and reached for the phone, "Speaking of which, I'll call them to tell them the news."

_Great. First Will tells us she's moving and now something's wrong in Metamoor. And worse, our powers are fading! What's next?_

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And that's just the tip of the iceberg! There's more to this fic than just Elyon coming back! Review!

PS: If you are wondering, I do watch the TV series on ABC Family!


	2. Calling all Guardians

I will refer to the parents as Mrs./Mr. Lair/Cook/Hale/Lin until I find out their names. I will refer to Will's mother as Susan. 

Disclaimer: I do not own the W.i.t.c.h. series! All I have is the books! Honest! ;P

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**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 2: "Calling All Guardians"**

"Vandom residence." Susan Vandom answered the phone.

"Ms. Vandom! Is Will there?" Irma's voice said in urgency.

"No. She's at the Olsen's pet shop. Why? What's the matter, Irma? Is something wrong?"

Irma stopped. _She didn't know what to say. If I say yes, then Ms. Vandom will worry. But if I don't say it's an emergency, Will may not come here as quick. Oh, I know!_

"Ms. Vandom, can you give me the phone number for the pet shop? I need to tell Will something."

"I'm sorry, Irma. I don't know the phone number. I'll tell her you called, though."

"OK, thanks anyway. Bye."

After hanging the phone up, Irma turned back to the Elyon, "Will wasn't there." She suddenly smiled, "But I know who can get in contact with her!"

Irma picked up the phone again and dialed another number.

"Cook residence. Taranee speaking."

"Taranee! You're there! Listen, Elyon has come through a portal to Heatherfield... Yes, I know. I wondered the same thing, but she said she'd tell us when everyone is here. I tried to call Will, but she wasn't there... Great! See you in a little while!"

"Taranee's coming?" Elyon asked.

"Yeah. She's coming after she tells Will. Now for Hay Lin... and Cornelia." She didn't like the idea of talking to Cornelia.

Irma picked up the phone once again.

"Silver Dragon restaurant." came the reply.

"Hello, is Hay Lin there? I need to speak to her."

After a few minutes of silence, Hay Lin's voice chirped up, "Irma, what's up?"

"Elyon came back to Heatherfield and said there's something wrong in Metamoor. I'm calling everyone so we can gather at my house. The police are here also, so be careful."

"I'll be there as fast I can fly."

Irma smiled at Hay Lin crack, "Hay Lin's coming, too."

She looked at the phone hesitantly. She didn't want to call Cornelia. _Well, I can always let Taranee speak to her as a backup plan._

"Hello, Mrs. Hale. Can I speak to Cornelia?"

"I'm sorry, Irma. Cornelia doesn't want any calls or visitors right now."

"I know that, but it's important! It's about Elyon."

"Alright, Irma. I can try to tell her but she'll probably just slam the door in my face."

With that, Mrs. Hale hung up.

There was a knock at the door and Will, Taranee, and Hay Lin were on the other side.

"Hey, guys!" Irma yelled and ran to greet her friends, with Elyon close behind.

"Elyon! It really is you!" Will gasped.

"Now that all your friends are here, Irma, can we start our discussion?" Agent Medina spoke up.

"No. Cornelia's not here yet."

The phone rung and Mr. Lair picked it up. Before he got a chance to say anything, Cornelia's voice rang over, "Irma! You better not be joking about this! Is Elyon over there? I thought she was in Meridian!"

Irma gasped and quickly snatched the phone from her father, "Cornelia! That wasn't me you were talking to! It was my dad! And by the way you were yelling, the Oracle could probably hear you."

"Irma, now is not the time for jokes. Is Elyon over there?"

"She is, but hasn't told why yet. We're waiting for you."

"We? Is everyone else over there, too?"

"Yes, and also Ms. Medina and Mr. McTiennan."

"I'll be right there."

Irma flashed a smile at the group, "She'll be here shortly."

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I know, a filler. But this chapter has an important detail that may help you readers figure out who's involved! 


	3. A New Evil

Let's celebrate! Now that final exams are over, I'll be able to update more often! 

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.!

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**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 3: "A New Evil"**

Ten minutes later, there were ten people sitting around the dining room table. Irma's brother, Christopher, had gone to his room.

Mr. Lair looked at Irma, "After this discussion with Agents Medina and McTiennan, you six girls are going to tell me what you're hiding. I heard Cornelia mention something about Elyon supposing to be some place called Meridian. Is that where you've been all this time, Elyon?"

Cornelia received a glare from the guardians.

_What are we going to say?_ Taranee askeed the girls.

_I don't know._ Hay Lin responded.

_I know what I can say, Taranee._ Elyon told her. "I was on vacation, sir."

"Wearing those clothes? They look like they're fit for a queen, not for vacation." Agent Medina said.

"I agree with Agent Medina." Agent McTiennan spoke up. "Most vacationers wear cooler clothes. And where are your parents at? Didn't they come back with you?"

"No... I came back to... get something."

"OK. Say we believe you for a moment here." Mr. Lair looked toward Elyon. "Why did you decide to take a vacation in the middle of the school year? Why has this vacation taken months?"

Irma could see that they were trapping Elyon into telling them the truth. "Uh, dad..." Irma began. "Can me and my friends be excused? It's a... girl thing. You wouldn't understand."

Before he could protest, Irma slipped into her room. The other girls hurried inside behind her. After Irma closed the door, Will said, "Good excuse."

"Yeah, Irma." Elyon said gratefully. "They were cornering me. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Besides, you still haven't told us the real reason you're here. It's obviously not a pleasure trip."

Elyon nodded. "That's right. Well, how can I begin?" She didn't know how to say it. "I was in the castle as I've been being, thinking to myself when I heard people screaming. Some were yelling my name out and some were hiding in their houses."

"What was scaring them?" Cornelia asked.

"A... monster. I don't remember it in detail, so I can't describe it. It didn't look like anything from Metamoor, but as you guys all know, anything can live there."

"So, what did you do?" Hay Lin was interesting in knowing more.

"Did you try to fight it off?" Irma asked.

Elyon nodded. "Yes, but the creature was too strong. I was tossed aside. It asked me if I knew the Guardians of the Veil. I said I did and it told me to tell the Guardians that Dalthar was back."

"Dalthar? Is that the creature's name?" Cornelia wondered.

"I would assume, but why he be back? I've never seen him before, and I don't think you have either."

Taranee shook her head. "Doesn't sound familiar. And I probably would have remembered a name like that."

"But why would he want us if we've never seen him before? It doesn't make sense." Will thought aloud.

Elyon looked over at Will. "I don't know, Will. But I do know that you need to take care of him as soon as possible. He's terrorizing the people of Meridian!"

Will closed her eyes and the Heart of Candracar appeared in her palm. "Well, we know what to do. We'll have to create astral drops and go to Meridian. We can defeat this Dalthar and Elyon can rule over Meridian just as she was meant to."

"Thanks, Will." Elyon smiled and turned to the others. "You guys too."

"Don't mention it." Cornelia said. "It's our job."

"So, Will, when do we leave?" Irma asked.

"Tonight."

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Did you like? I just guessed that Elyon's been missing for a few months. It never really said indefinitely in the books. 

In case you were wondering, the ten people were Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Elyon, Mr. Lair, Mrs. Lair, Agent McTiennan, and Agent Medina.

Note: I am currently looking for the Guardian's parent's names. This is what I know right now:

Will  
Mother: Susan  
Father: Thomas

Irma  
Mother:  
Father: Tom

Taranee  
Mother:  
Father:

Cornelia  
Mother:  
Father: Harold

Hay Lin  
Mother:  
Father:

If any of this information is wrong or you know any of the blank spaces, please let me know!


	4. Before the Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.

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**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 4: "Before the Battle"**

Three hours later, the six girls were looking into their astral drops behind the Silver Dragon. Will's was still faulty, but was doing alot better.

Will started walking away from the group. "I'll be right back. I've got to talk to Matt about something. I'll meet you in Elyon's basement."

In a flash, Will was gone. The remaining team members left their astral drops and headed for Elyon's house.

**-at the Olsen's pet shop-**

The bell chimed as Will opened the door.

"Oh, hey, Will." Matt greeted her as he came from the back. "We're just about to close, so you only have a few minutes."

"Oh, I know. I'm glad I'm caught you before you left. I have a favor to ask of you. I'm going to be really busy for the next few days so I was wondering if you could take care of my dormouse for me."

Will knelt down beside her backpack and retrieved a wiggling dormouse. "I'd appreciate it."

Matt took it from her. "No problem. You've helped around the shop so much, I have to repay you somehow."

As Matt's hand touched hers, Will felt flustered. "T-Thanks Matt... I... I'll be back to pick Ghiro up soon!" She looked at her dormouse. "You be good now." Will hurried out the door and toward Elyon's house.

**-at Elyon's basement-**

"Will's been gone a long time." Taranee said, looking around at her four friends.

"Give her time, guys." Irma piped up. "Let her talk to Matt. After all, she's had the longest crush on him."

"Speaking of which.." Hay Lin heard Will's footsteps come toward them.

Will turned the corner, out of breath. "Sorry it took so long. Now... It'd be best if we were in our Guardian forms when we cross the portal."

She called upon the Heart of Candracar. "Ready?"

"Ready."

The Heart glowed and four Aurameres appeared and darted to their owners.

"Irma, Water!" Blue energy waves engulfed the water Guardian.

"Taranee, Fire!" Bright orange flames surrounded Taranee.

"Cornelia, Earth!" The stubborn blonde headed girl absorbed the green energy.

"Hay Lin, Air!" Hay Lin's two long ponytails moved with the shimmering wind.

Will could feel herself being transformed as her backpack was tore from her back and replaced by light, feathery wings.

After their transformation was complete, the Guardians entered the portal, with Elyon close behind.

Within seconds of their arrival in Meridian, a Metamoorian cried joyously, "Look! Queen Elyon has returned with the Guardians!"

"Guardians? Where?" came a gruff voice from over the crowd. It was a dark brown shape that stood on two feet with horns on each side of his head. He had hooves as feet and menacing eyes were planted atop his snoutlike nose. He threw both of his hands up in the air as it roared in anger at the Guardians.

"Are you sure your brother hasn't returned, Elyon? Because this thing looks like one of his failed experiments." Irma cringed at the sight of this new creature.

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Not a chapter that is good for the plot, but hopefully, the next chapter will make up for that! Review! 

As for good news, expect future chapters(chapter 7 at the earliest) to be longer!

Also, thanks to a reviewer at WITCH Fanfiction for the remaining names:

Will  
Mother: Susan Vandom  
Father: Thomas (Vandom?)

Irma  
Mother: Anne Banister(stepmom. Her real mother died when Irma was little)  
Father: Tom(Thomas) Lair

Taranee  
Mother: Theresa Robson Cook  
Father: Lionel Cook

Cornelia  
Mother: Elizabeth Landon  
Father: Harold Hale

Hay Lin  
Mother: Joan Lin  
Father: Chen Lin

I'm just wondering, but does Irma's powers only work on existing water or can she "make" water from thin air? I thought is was existing water, but I'm not sure. If you know, please answer in your review!


	5. Powerless

Sorry for the long wait! Our computer crashed and I couldn't update during that time. I lost every single chapter for all of my stories I had typed. Oh, well. Now for the much expected next chapter!

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**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 5: "Powerless"**

"That's him. That's Dalthar." Elyon whispered to the Guardians.

"Well, I think he needs a bath!" Irma shot a wave of water at her foe.

Dalthar wasn't phased.

"Hey! My attack didn't work!"

"Maybe he needs a little fire!" Taranee shoted as she threw a fireball at him.

Dalthar stumbled back a few steps and frowned. "You aren't the Guardians of the Veil I'm looking for! Where are they?"

"What is he talking about?" Hay Lin wondered. "We're the only Guardians of the Veil!"

"He doesn't believe that we're Guardians? Then I'll guess we'll have to show him!" Cornelia summoned a rock from the earth and threw it at Dalthar.

Dalthar, unfortunately, caught in both hands and threw it at the earth Guardian.

"Cornelia!" Hay Lin used her powers over the wind to pull Cornelia's body from the flying rock.

"Agh!" Will yelled, alerting the others. The rock was heading for her.

"Oh, no! Will!" Irma cried and pushed the rock with a second wave of water.

"Thanks, Irma. That was close call."

"Just helping a fellow Guardian out."

"Hay Lin flew beside Taranee. "Let's attack him together."

Bright orange flames combined with the strong force of the wind and slammed into Dalthar's face.

"You Guardians aren't as powerful as I thought you were." Dalthar stood back up and charged toward Hay Lin. She was thrown to the ground and a cloud of dust enveloped her.

"Hay Lin!" Will yelled and shot a beam of pink energy at Dalthar. "Take that!"

Dalthar hit it away. "I would think that the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar would be stronger."

"Our attacks aren't even hurting him!" Cornelia shouted in frustration.

_We were able to transform this time, but our powers are not strong enough to even scratch him!_ Will thought desperately.

_I know!_ Taranee spoke to her through telepathy. _It's bad... Very bad._

-**With Astral Taranee**-

Astral Taranee was walking beside Nigel. "Taranee? I'm just curious. How long have you... felt that way?"

-**flashback**-

The two walked along the road when Astral Taranee suddenly stopped. "Hey, Nigel?"

"Yes, Taranee?" Nigel looked toward her.

Astral Taranee suddenly, and unexpectedly, lunged toward her and kissed Nigel deeply on the lips. "Nigel, I love you."

-**end of flashback**-

Nigel looked down at the ground.

"I don't know, Nigel. It... just came."

-**With Astral Irma**-

Astral Irma headed toward her bedroom when her father yelled to her from the living room. "Aren't you going to take one of your 2-hour baths, Irma? You never skip them!"

"No, dad! I'm hitting the hay early! I don't want to take a bath tonight!"

-**With Astral Hay Lin**-

"Hay Lin! Aren't you going to help clean up?"

"Not tonight, Mom!" Astral Hay Lin responded with slight annoyance.

"But, Hay Lin! You always help clean up! You've never turned down the chance!"

"I just don't feel like it tonight, OK!" She snapped back.

-**With Astral Cornelia**-

"No, Mom! Just leave me alone!" Astral Cornelia screamed in anger.

"You don't want to go ice skating tomorrow? Are you sure?" Mrs. Hale asked again.

"As I said before, no! Never mention it again!"

And Astral Cornelia slammed to door.

-**With Astral Will**-

Astral will helped clear the table after dinner. "You know, Mom, I don't care if you see Mr. Collins. He's a bad teacher, but you and him make a good couple."

"Hm?" Susan looked at her daughter with a questioning look. "Will? Are you feeling OK? You've always had a problem with me seeing Dean."

"I don't anymore. Can I go to bed early, Mom? I want to make sure I get the right amount of sleep."

"Uh... sure, Will."

After Will had left, Susan sighed. "I wonder how the other girls are doing. Will's astral drop just isn't doing right."

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How'd you like that? Review and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Sooner, atleast, than this one. 


	6. The Stolen Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h. 

I would like to point out that I wrote this chapter before the episode "The Stolen Heart". I just have a weird tendency to name chapters of my fics the same as future episode titles or game chapter titles... Go figure. Also, W.i.t.c.h. Adventures never happened.

I am also so sorry for not being able to update. My computer is having a problem with it's not the site).As of right now, I am having to upload them at home and go to my cousin's house to post them. I'm doing it with this chapter now. The problem is, we only go over to my cousin's house every other week or so. I'll try to update sooner...

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 6: "The Stolen Heart"**

Hay Lin was thrown back by her own blast of air that Dalthar had reflected.

Irma shot a water blast at Dalthar. "Why are we not strong enough to defeat this monster?" She was extremely frustrated, just like the other Guardians.

Hay Lin threw a wave of cold air at Irma's wave of water so it froze into one big icicle.

"We may be fighting a losing battle, but we can never give up completely." Will tried to encourage her team as much as she was herself as she shot a pink energy blast.

Elyon ran up beside Cornelia. "I have all the people in hiding." She reported with a weary smile.

"I don't think hiding will do any good, Elyon." Cornelia said bitterly. "Our powers are weak and we're tired."

Dalthar wasn't affected by Hay Lin, Irma, or Will's attcks.

"Even our combined attacks aren't working!" Hay Lin cried.

"Maybe the Heart can do something." Will summoned the Guardian's source of power and held it towards Dalthar. "Heart of Candracar, help us defeat this evil!"

Nothing happened. No shining light. No great beam of energy.

"Nothing..." Will closed her hand around the Heart with a defeated sigh.

Dalthar ran up to Will and slashed at her hand. The Heart was flung to the ground in front Dalthar.

"No!" Taranee dived for it and Hay Lin tried to blow the Heart away from Dalthar.

But, unfortunately, to the Guardian's dismay, the crystal pendant was now in Dalthar's possession.

"No! The Heart..." Will cried out.

"This can't be happening!" Cornelia yelled in anger and frustration as she attacked Dalthar with sharp needle-like leaves from a nearby tree.

He quickly held the Heart in front, shielding him.

_Taranee!_ Will thought to the fire Guardian.

_I'm on it!_ Taranee shot a beam of fire at the leaves. "No, you don't!"

"Good save, Taranee!" Cornelia smiled at her.

Will felt herself weaken and fell onto her knees.

"Will!" The others yelled.

"It's the Heart." Elyon spoke up. "She feels powerless without it."

"But how can we get it back? Our powers aren't strong enough to even scratch him!" Irma cried.

"We'll have to hide until we think of a plan." Taranee said slowly.

Hay Lin lifted Will up in the aiar. "You guys run and I'll carry Will."

Elyon pointed to the palace. "We can hide in there for now. Follow me. I know this place inside and out."

"We'll be behind you." Will said so silently, it was almost a whisper.

"Be quiet, Will." Hay Lin said from above. "Save your energy."

"I just... I feel like I'm letting you guys down. I'm the leader. I should be strong."

"You're not letting us down, Will." Taranee said.

"Yeah, if anything, we let ourselves down." Cornelia spoke up with obvious disgust. "Water, Fire, Earth, or Air didn't hurt him. Even combined, he didn't budge."

"And now he has the Heart of Candracar! As if we couldn't hurt him before!" Irma cried.

Will looked up at ceiling, toward the darkened, gloomy sky. "Oracle, when are we going to find the answers to our questions if we can't even defend ourselves?"

**-Candracar-**

Looking through the portal, the Oracle smiled. "Soon, Guardians, soon..."

* * *

Enjoy this chapter until I can get the next up, guys! Now to see if the chapters for my other stories will work... 


	7. A Heartfelt Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.!

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 7: "A Heartfelt Battle"**

Elyon watched as Dalthar rampaged through Meridian.

"We have to defeat him." Will said. "Even if our powers are weak."

"But how?" Hay Lin asked. "Without the Heart, we have no chance of getting our powers strong enough."

"Queen Elyon! You have returned!" came a cry of joy.

"Weldor!" Elyon smiled.

"Your Majesty, what can I do for you?" The blue skinned Metamoorian servant asked.

"Nothing right now, Weldor. We need to get the Heart of Candracar back from Dalthar and into Will's hands."

Weldor didn't hesitate. He jumped from the palace and started to attack Dalthar.

"No! Weldor!" Elyon yelled.

Cornelia quickly wrapped some vines around his legs and Hay Lin helped to pull him back in. "Let us deal with Dalthar, little guy." Cornelia told him.

"But Queen Elyon said-"

"I don't think I told you to get yourself killed, Weldor." Elyon frowned at him. "Now, go and get yourself clean for tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He scampered off, ashamed at disobeying his queen.

"Will, I have an idea." Elyon suddenly said and looked out the window toward Dalthar. "You need to get back to Heatherfield as soon as possible and we still have no Heart. You'll just have to trust me on this plan. Cornelia, Hay Lin, Irma and Taranee, you four distract Dalthar while Will and I get the Heart back."

The four Guardians went in the opposite direction than Will and Elyon.

Dalthar saw Elyon out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, big brown ugly thing! Over here!" Irma shouted.

"Thanks, Irma." Elyon whispered and turned to Will. "While they are distracting him, I'll attack at the right time. Hopefully, he'll drop the Heart and you can catch it."

Will nodded. "It just might work if you can attack at just the right time. Let's go."

Elyon held her hands up and aimed at Dalthar, making sure her palms were out. "Will, get ready."

Will got into a running position and waited for Elyon to attack.

Dalthar saw Elyon's hand out aiming for him and started running toward her.

Elyon blinked in surprise. "Wha...?"

"Elyon!" Cornelia cried. "Stop right there, Dalthar!" A small vine wrapped around Dalthar's leg and pulled him back with as much strength as Cornelia had left in her.

Elyon saw Dalthar's grip on the Heart loosen just a tiny bit. _Just enough for me to free it!_

Dalther stumbled and started to fall, face forward, on the ground.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Hay Lin shouted and shot a blast of wind at him.

Elyon released a white blast from her outstretched palm at Dalthar's hand.

Just as everyone had hoped, the Heart of Candracar slipped from Dalthar's grip. Will hurried to catch the glowing crystal pendant.

She smiled when she felt her fingers close over the Heart. "The Heart of Candracar... I'm glad to have you back." She felt a small surge of energy shoot through her body.

Dalthar moved slightly. "You girls... You're not the Guardians of the Veil I remember..."

"You'll have to explain that one, buddy." Irma said. "How can we not the Guardians you're looking for, yet be the only ones that exist?"

"As bad as I want answers, Irma, we, unfortunately, don't have time for them." Will interrupted her friend's interrogation. "We need to hurry back to Heatherfield before morning breaks."

"Are you coming with us, Elyon?" Cornelia asked.

"I'll have to." She answered. "At least for tonight. It won't help matters with the police much if I suddenly disappear again, will it?"

"You've got a point." Taranee nodded and pointed through the portal they had come through. We had better hurry up if we're going, guys."

"Yeah." Hay Lin gritted her teeth. "I can't hold this monster down much longer."

Will held the Heart of Candracar out. "I think it'd be best if we weren't dressed in our Guardian outfits. Agents Medina and McTiennan might be in Elyon's house."

"You really think so? It's the middle of the night." Irma spoke up.

"Better safe than sorry." Will's outfit returned to her normal clothes. "I just hope our parents didn't notice the difference between us and our astral drops..."

* * *

The next chapter is basically about the girls dealing with their astral drops, and then the next one is another interrogation at Irma's house... with a different result. 


	8. Astral Trouble

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 8: "Astral Trouble"**

After returning home (Elyon stayed at Cornelia's), the six girls slept later than they usually did.

Well, atleast for some...

**-at Irma's house-**

Irma awoke to the sound of her little brother yelling her name.

"Irma! Are you going to take a bath this morning to make up for last night?"

"Wha..." She rubbed her eyes to help her wake up. "What do you mean 'to make up for last night'?"

"You've forgotten already? You didn't take your usual 2 hour bath last night!"

_What? Oh yeah... My astral drop!_ She laughed nervously. "A-Are you sure, Chris?"

-**at Cornelia's house-**

Cornelia groaned for the second time that morning. Her mother was asking her why she declined ice skating. _Or rather, my astral drop. Cornela thought with a frown. Why would my astral drop refuse something that I - we - love the most in the world?_

"Cornelia, are you listening to me?" Mrs. Hale asked her daughter forcefully. "I know you said to never mention it again, but that is so unlike you! Are you sick or something?" She felt Cornelia's forehead. "No, you feel fine. What's wrong, honey? You can tell me..."

Cornelia rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long morning.

**-at the Silver Dragon-**

"Hay Lin! Come on down here!" Mrs. Lin yelled up the stairs.

"Coming, Mom!" Hay Lin rushed to where her mother was.

Her mother had made her clean double the usual since "she" didn't do it yesterday. Not that cleaning the restaurant was punishment, but Hay Lin wanted to get out as soon as possible. Last night, Will had told everyone to meet at her house at noon.

Hay Lin smiled and got to work.

**-at Taranee's house-**

Taranee had just gotten dressed to go to Will's and was fixing to walk out the door, but Peter stopped her.

"Hey, little sis! Trying to sneak out to be with Nigel?"

Taranee frowned at her older brother's smug grin. _Oh, great! He saw my astral drop kiss Nigel! Well, I guess it could be worse. Atleast Mom isn't hounding me._

"No answer? Well, I wont tell Mom for your sake. Just don't anything stupid out there."

"Thanks, I wont! See you later!" Taranee waved at Peter as she hurried out the door.

**-at Will's house-**

Will woke up groggily. She looked around her room to see that it looked the same as it was last night. _I can't believe I actually miss Ghiro..._

She glimpsed at the clock beside her. It read 11:49 AM. _Oh, man! The girls will be here any minute!_

She hopped out of bed and quickly changed clothes while attempting to avoid the stray objects laying around her room.

Another glance at the clock showed Will that 12 minutes had passed.

When she ran from her room to the front door, her mother stopped her.

"Good, morning, Will. Have a nice sleep last night? You must have been tired because you never sleep this late. Is anything wrong?"

"No, Mom. Everything's just fine!" Will faked a smile. _Good thing today's Saturday!_

Just then the doorbell rang. It was just as Will had expected. Irma, Cornelia, Elyon, Hay Lin and Taranee were standing on the other side.

After saying their hellos, the six girls headed to Will's room.

"Let's cut to the chase." Cornelia looked around at the five listening faces. "How can we defeat Dalthar? We couldv'e easily been killed last night."

"I don't know, Cornelia..." Will's face fell. "I'm your leader and if it wasn't for Elyon, we probably wouldn't have survived."

"Don't say that!" Irma protested. "We were all losing, Will. Our powers are all weak. You know that."

"Yeah. Even our astral drops are acting up." Taranee's quiet voice cut through the tension in the air."

"Yours, too?" Hay Lin piped up." Mine didn't help clean up the restaurant last night."

"Cornelia's refused her mother's offer to go ice skating." Elyon spoke for Cornelia.

"According to Chris, I didn't take a bath last night." Irma spoke with a frown.

"Well, my astral drop did something totally out of line." Taranee said in disbelief. "It kissed Nigel! And said that I loved him! I don't think I can face him now..."

"Mine told my mom that I didn't mind her dating Mr. Collins..." Will spoke with disgust.

"See?" Irma got everyone's attention. "Our powers are fading, our astral drops aren't working right, we're fighting a losing battle against Dalthar. How much worse can it get?"


	9. Inside the Lair's Household

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 9: "Inside the Lair Household"**

"Irma!" Her father called to the girl. "I suggest you come down here right now. You can call you friends for backup if you want!"

Irma could tell from his voice that he was angry. _Oh, man. What does he want now? And why would I need the others?_

She was surprised to see Agent Medina and McTiennan sitting at the table. _Why are they here this time? _She groaned.

"Irma!" Agent Medina said cheerfully. "Glad you could make it. We never finished our little interrogation yesterday."

_Yikes! I forgot all about that!_ Irma quickly ran into her room. "I need to call the others. I can't get out of this alone." She picked up the phone and dialed a number. She had quickly memorized all the Guardian's phone number for reference.

"When somebody finally answered with a monotonous, "Hello. Will speaking."

Irma smiled with a desperate gleam in her eyes. "Will, thank goodness I caught you!"

-**later**-

"So, Will." Agent McTiennan spoke with a hearty voice. "We spoke with Matt Olsen earlier today and found out that he's petsitting your dormouse. He said that you'd be busy for the next few days?"

Will laughed nervously under the agent's suspicious stare. "Yeah... That's right." _Yeah, busy fighting off a monster in another world._ "Why do you ask, Agent McTiennan?"

Mr. Lair looked at the red haired teenager with the same look as his partner "Well, Will, we find that a bit... what's the word? Misleading? What I mean is that why would you let Matt look after your dormouse when you're obviously not that busy. I talked to your mom and she said you're either at home or out with you friends like any other normal teenager."

"And, besides, couldn't your mother take care of it?" Agent Medina spoke softer than the two men.

"Well, my mom works at Simultech when I'm at school." Will was more confident with a defense. "If it's at Matt's, it can be taken care of better since he works with animals. And when he goes to school, Mr. Olsen can handle it."

"That may be true, but I still don't buy it." Mr. Lair frowned at her. "I still think you girls know more than you're letting on about Elyon's disappearance."

"That's enough, Tom." Mrs. Lair's voice was assertive, yet quiet as she entered the kitchen. "The girls may or may not know, but there's no need to keep asking them about Elyon. They aren't going to tell you what they know if they don't want to."

"But, Anne--!" Tom started to protest, but his wife's silent gaze made him stop. "Alright. I'll quit asking them."

"Mom..." Irma breathed.

Anne looked around the group of six girls and smiled.

-**in Irma's room**-

"That was weird." Those were first words out of Irma's mouth when they got to her bedroom. "She's never done that before. Mom's usually all for Dad's investigations."

"Do you think she knows?" Elyon looked at the Guardians with a worried, longing expression. "Do you think she knows about you all being Guardians and about Metamoor?"

"I haven't told her anything. Have any of you?" Irma frowned at the other girls."

They shook their heads. "Why would we tell your mom when we haven't told ours?" Cornelia responded in her usual stubborn way. "Why do you ask, Elyon?"

"Well, it was her look." She said quietly. "The way she said it... I just sensed that she knows something and that was why she defended us."

Taranee shook her head and sighed, her beads shaking. "If Mrs. Lair knows, that's bad. Nobody can know what we after school and if she tells our parents, it's all over with."

"I agree with Taranee." Will spoke up. "If our parents found out - if anybody found out - they'd put a stop to it. We still have to stop Dalthar. We can't have anybody interfere."

"Will's right!" Irma stood up and threw her right hand in the air. "One for all and all for one! Who's with me?"

The others followed suit. "Defeat Dalthar!"

-**a few minutes** **later**-

As all but Irma left the Lair household, Will turned to Anne. "Thanks, Mrs. Lair, for-"

"It's alright, Will. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?"

Anne closed the door. _And then there's the fact that I know what you girls aren't telling. But it's understandable. I mean, Elyon was in another world for months at a time. Who would believe you?_

Who else knows? Next chapter is where it gets interesting... Look forward to it!


	10. Saving Elyon

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h. Just the Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin and Elyon McDonald's toys...

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 10: "Saving Elyon"**

As Will held up the Heart of Candracar, she looked up at her four friends. The glow from the crystal pendant lit their faces, so it showed their looks of determination.

But you could also see that they were scared. Even Will was, and she was their leader.

They were in Elyon's basement, in front of only open portal they knew about. And one by one they entered.

What they saw was worse than the last time they were in Meridian.

"Dalthar must have thought it was a good day to destroy the city." Irma said to her Guardian friends.

"Elyon!" Cornelia suddenly gasped in horror and pointed half a mile away. There, Elyon was struggling to defend herself with a white beam of energy.

"Oh, no!" Hay Lin covered her mouth with her hands.

"She's in trouble! Let's go, Guardians!" Will yelled.

As the five girls got closer to the Meridian queen, small wisps of green magic emerged from Cornelia's fingertips. The ground underneath Elyon suddenly pushed her out of the way of Dalthar's quick punch.

Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin attacked Dalthar at the same time.

Elyon looked back, "Cornelia! What are you guys doing here?" She was surprised to find them in Meridian.

"Saving you. What does it look like?" Cornelia answered with a satisfied grin.

"But you guys can't defeat Dalthar! He's too powerful!" Elyon looked at the other four Guardians.

Dalthar swung his left arm toward them and Hay Lin created a wall of air to lessen the blow.

Will, Irma and Taranee fell to the ground softer than Hay Lin did.

"You OK, Hay Lin?" Irma asked her friend.

"Yeah. Fine." Hay Lin lifted herself into the air and gave her a thumbs up.

"Hay Lin! Watch out!" Elyon yelled and shot a blast of streaming energy at Dalthar's left eye.

Dalthar cried in pain and covered his eye with his hands.

"Good one!" Cornelia smiled. She closed her eyes and focused. Vines and rocks came from underground and wrapped around Dalthar like chains.

"Let's try freezing him, Irma." Wind swirled around Hay Lin, making her hair appear like water waves.

"Ready when you are." Irma lifted her hands.

A moment later, a blast of icy water hit Dalthar in the face, but all it did was weaken the chains Cornelia tied around him.

"No! Watch out, guys!" Will yelled at Irma and Hay Lin.

Cornelia threw a large rock from the earth at Dalthar to stop him from breaking the vines, but Dalthar caught it and threw it back at her with double the power and speed.

Cornelia fell, defeated and fell unconscious.

"Cornelia!" Elyon cried. "You guys need to leave here now!" She looked at the others, all weary from the battle. "With Cornelia down, you don't even have a hope to win."

"You're right, Elyon." Will said. She closed her eyes and she tightened her grip around the Heart. "But that doesn't mean we have to give up."

Taranee was hit by Dalthar's right hand.

"Hey, ugly!" Irma shot a blast of water at him.

"How refreshing." He smiled.

"What? Will, I think you need to get a new Heart. My powers aren't even phasing him."

"None of our powers are strong enough anymore. I'm just expecting our power to stay transformed to fade soon en-" Will was interrupted as she felt her Guardian outfit disappear.

"You just had to say it, didn't you, Wil?" Irma muttered.

"Don't blame Will." Hay Lin walked up beside Irma.

Taranee was helping Elyon carry the unconscious Cornelia to the group.

"I haven't finished torturing you yet!" Dalthar cried and charged toward them. "You can't leave yet!"

But as the girls jumped through the portal, Dalthar's fist swung at the spot they were once standing.

-**in Elyon's basement**-

They landed on the floor of Elyon's basement with an echoing thud.

"You're not staying in Meridian, Elyon?" Hay Lin asked.

"No. I had to go back there this morning to see if Weldor was still alive. Then Dalthar decided to attack me."

"And that was when we came." Irma smiled. "You don't have to think us. It was all in a day's work."

"Irma, is that you?" A man's voice echoed.

Irma's face paled. "A-Agent McTiennan?"

He just smiled knowingly.

* * *

Now the girls are caught! How are they going to explain this? Told you it was getting interesting... 


	11. Trouble in Heatherfield

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 11: "Trouble in Heatherfield"**

"So, you and your friends _do_ know something about Elyon." Tom bored his eyes into his daughter.

Agent Medina held up a tape recorder. "We put a tape recorder in her basement yesterday. We go your conversation on tape, and already listened to it several times."

"You what?" Irma yelled. _This is bad... Very bad..._

"From what we understand, Elyon's been living in this... Meridian place. Is that where you girls go every day?"

"And where is this Meridian? How do you get there? We didn't hear any footsteps before you started talking." Agent McTiennan pressed on.

The six girls were silent. Not even Irma spoke.

-**with Anne**-

Anne was in the other room on the phone. "Theresa, they're in trouble. Agents McTiennan and Medina caught the girls in Elyon's basement. They got their conversation after they came from Meridian on tape. They mentioned... They mentioned Meridian, Theresa, Elyon even said she wasn't going back to Meridian today, so now they know that that's where she's been all this time."

"You've got to be joking!"

Anne frowned. "Unfortunately, I'm not."

-**Back with the gang**-

"Answer us, Irma." her father said as calmly as possibly, although there was still a small hint of anger in his voice.

The girls just looked at each other, helplessly.

"They got caught! They got caught!" Christopher chanted happily.

Irma ignored him. There were more important matters at hand now than your little brother's everyday teasing.

The police knew where Elyon went missing to months ago. The police knew where the five girls from Heatherfield went in their free time. All the police needed now was an explanation of why, how, and how long, and then the Guardian's secret was out. The late night missions would be put to a halt.

"Sorry for letting you down, Oracle." Irma muttered.

-**Candracar**-

Luba smiled at the scene unfolding inside the Water Guardian's house. _See, Oracle? I always thought that they couldn't handle the responsibility of Guardianship. Now, I have a proof. And I don't even have to help the Aurameres together!_

"Luba."

Luba turned around to face the Oracle, still with a confident smirk on her face. "Oh, Oracle. How lovely to see you."

The Oracle's disapproving expression did not change as he spoke. "Luba, it's not as you think."

Luba hung her mouth open in disbelief. "B-But, Oracle! Don't you see what they have done? They are just girls. They got lucky with bringing down Phobos and giving Meridian back their rightful queen, a fluke! They can't handle Dalthar! Their friendship-"

"Their friendship may have dwindled, but it will return." a third voice spoke up.

"Ah, welcome, Yan Lin." The Oracle smiled faintly.

-**Heatherfield**-

Tom Lair banged his fists on the dining room table. "Somebody answer our questions! Any one of you girls!"

Irma swallowed. "D-Dad... Calm down."

"Tom." Anne stepped from the bedroom. "You're not going to force the information out of them."

"Anne! But I know that they know something! I have proof!"

She frowned at her husband's persistance. "We know that Elyon's been in Meridian, Tom. Isn't that enough?"

Elyon stood up. "I'm sorry, Irma. I'm sorry Cornelia, Will, Hay Lin and Taranee."

"What are you sorry for? We're the ones that can't defeat him!" Cornelia protested.

Anne gasped. "Him? Defeat who?"

"No one, Mom. Corny said it by accident." Irma scowled at her friend.

"Irma, I really don't like that nickname of yours. You know that." Cornelia shot back. "You know what I could do to you."

"And me to you."

Will and Taranee walked beside Elyon.

"Elyon, don't go back." Will lowered her voice. "Dalthar is still over there."

Just then, there was a scream. People were running, terrified for their lives.

"It's a monster!"

"It came out of the Brown's house!"

"What?" Elyon mouthed and looked gravely at the others.

Anne opened the door and glanced at the monster everyone was running from. The dark brown rampaging figure was still very far from them, but close enough for Anne to recognize it. She shook her head in disbelief. "No... Dalthar."

* * *

Another cliffie! Aren't I evil? I think one of my favorite scenes was the Candracar one. You could imagine that happening, atleast with what Luba did in book 14 and 15. 


	12. Bonds of Friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h. 

You might need them for this chapter...

Will  
Mother: Susan  
Father: Thomas

Irma  
Mother: Anne  
Father: Tom

Taranee  
Mother: Theresa  
Father: Lionel

Cornelia  
Mother: Elizabeth  
Father: Harold

Hay Lin  
Mother: Joan Lin  
Father: Chen Lin

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 12: "Bonds of Friendship"**

"What? Dalthar!" Will shouted.

"How do you know his name, Mom?" Irma looked at her mother's frightened expression.

"Oh, no! Did you just say Dalthar?" Hay Lin's face went pale.

Taranee nodded her head slowly. Cornelia didn't move. She remembered what happened last time.

Will closed her right hand around something in her palm.

_Will... we have to do this._ Taranee spoke to her telepathically. She knew that it was the Heart of Candracar in her palm.

"Guys, let's go." Will said. "We can't let Dalthar destroy our home."

"But, Will..." Hay Lin started.

"I know, Hay Lin, I know. But what other choice do we have?" Will still gazed out the door as she spoke.

"She's right." Elyon said quietly.

Will walked out the door. "Coming guys?" The others followed.

At that particular moment, Matt, Nigel and the Guardian's parents ran down the street to them. They embraced their daughters.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Susan said.

Elizabeth looked at Anne, then at the other mothers. They smiled.

"N-Nigel?" Taranee managed to say.

Matt handed Ghiro to Will, but Will pushed it back. "Sorry, Matt. You'll see why in a minute."

"Nigel, I didn't mean what I said yesterday. I mean, I do care about you, but... not like that. At least not yet."

"I understand, Taraneee. You weren't yourself, were you?"

Taranee smiled. "Yeah, something like that." She turned toward the group.

Cornelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Will, everyone, I'm sorry."

"Wow, that probably took a lot of courage, Corny..." Irma commented.

"Irma!" Cornelia glared at her.

"Please, guys..." Will sighed.

Cornelia continued. "Ever since Elyon came back, I've begun to realize... Well, that I've been childish to cry over Caleb and shut you guys out of my life. I realize that one day... One day Caleb will be restored to what he once was."

"He will, Cornelia." Elyon assured her.

Cornelia smiled and the Heart shone brilliantly. It shone brighter than it had in the past few months and maybe even brighter than it ever had. The light surrounded the girls in a surge of pink, turquoise, orange, green and blue energy.

Seconds later, they were in their Guardian outfits. Taranee sucked in air. "Our powers..."

Will nodded. "Yes, now that our friendship is back, so our are powers."

Irma smirked at Dalthar. "So, now I can clean the streets of Heatherfield up."

Tom and the two agents were too terrified to move.

"Uh, dear..." Tom said slowly. "Is this... what you were talking about..."

Anne nodded as the other parents made their way beside her.

Christopher stared in awe at his older sister. "Whoa..."

"You haven't seen anything yet, little bro." Irma summoned a wave of water at Dalthar.

Hay Lin froze Irma's water before it destroyed anything. "Irma, you don't need to ruin the whole town."

"She's right." Cornelia frowned at Irma. "Try this..." She put her palms face down on the ground and caused a huge sinkhole to form underneath Dalthar.

" 'Don't ruin the town', huh?"

"Don't start, guys..." Will said.

Taranee shot a fireball at him, and he didn't block it this time.

Will held the Heart up and threw a blast of energy at Dalthar.

Dalthar yelled out of frustration. "You may not be the Guardians I'm looking for, but you've become more powerful. How could you become that much stronger in such a short amount of time?"

"That's none of your business." Cornelia summoned a tangle of vines to wrap around Dalthar's arms and legs. "That should hold you for a while."

Joan Lin looked at Anne with a fearful expression. "Anne... can they do it?"

She nodded. "Yes, Joan, I think they can. I think our daughters can finish off what we didn't 13 years ago... Defeat Dalthar once and for all."

* * *

Opens up a whole new can of worms doesn't it? 


	13. A Guardian's Past

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

Loved the positive feedback I got! Keep it coming!

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 13: "A Guardian's Past"**

Dalthar struggled in Cornelia's attack. "Let me out of here! You'll pay for this!"

"Really?" Irma walked up to him. "Then tell us what you know!"

Dalthar narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I can't believe it... You look just like her when you make that face..."

"Like who? Everyone says I look like my parents, or that I could be on the cover of a magazine."

"The Earth Guardian. She encased me in a rock tomb in Metamoor, on the opposite side of Meridian."

"Well, now we're getting somewhere." Hay Lin landed and walked beside Irma.

"An Earth Guardian that looked like me?" Irma frowned. "I thought only self conscious girls could be Earth Guardians."

Cornelia ignored her comment. "What did the other Guardians look like?"

"That's enough questions." Dalthar suddenly smiled and broke free of the vines. He was too fast for the Guardians to even see.

"Wha...?" Cornelia mouthed before Dalthar blew her and Irma back. He snatched Will, Taranee and Hay Lin and slashed through the air. A dark portal opened and he jumped inside.

"Hey! Will! Taranee, Hay Lin!" Irma yelled.

Will summoned the Heart of Candracar, but Dalthar pulled her along, causing her to drop the crystal pendant. The portal closed just as the Heart landed on the street.

Irma grabbed it, but it was too late. "They're gone..."

"Where'd he get that sudden surge of power? And now he has the others!" Cornelia yelled in seething anger.

"Dalthar is more powerful than he's been putting on." Mrs. Hale said.

"She's right." A gentle voice spoke and Yan Lin and the Oracle appeared beside them.

"Oracle? But-"

"Be patient, Irma." Yan Lin said. "The Oracle has put up a barrier that froze time."

"Hey, can you do that during tests?"

"Irma, now is not the time!" Cornelia responded.

"What are you doing here, Oracle?" Elyon asked. "Are you going to help us against Dalthar?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot do that." He said as he shook his head slowly. "But Susan and her friends can." He pointed toward the parents.

"Huh?" Irma gasped with realization. "An Earth Guardian that looks like me..." She looked into her mother's eyes.

Anne smiled. "I just don't have powers nearly as strong as Cornelia's." She snapped her fingers and the grass became twice as green beside her.

"I don't believe it... You were the Guardians who fought against Dalthar?"

"Mom?" Cornelia stuttered. "So you knew where me and the girls were doing?"

"If you knew, why didn't you help us when Agents McTiennan, Medina and even dad where asking us questions?"

"That was a test." Yan Lin answered. "We needed to know how loyal you were to Elyon."

"You wanted to see if they would tell?" Elyon asked in disbelief.

"We needed to know if your friendship would last, Guardians." The Oracle said.

Cornelia scoffed. "It did. Atleast until Phobos turned Caleb into a flower."

"Oh, yes. That reminds me." The Oracle waved his hand toward Cornelia's house.

The door opened and Caleb stepped out. "Cornelia, there you are..."

"Caleb..." Cornelia immediately started crying. "Is that you? Is that really you?"

When Caleb nodded, Cornelia ran to him and nearly pushed him down as she embraced the boy from her dreams.

"Oh, look, flower boy is awake." Irma tried to be sarcastic, but couldn't help to smile at the couple.

Yan Lin looked away from them with a frown. "As happy as I am for them to be reunited, the situation at hand is more dire."

"It was all my fault." Elyon whispered. "I shouldn't have came back to Heatherfield."

"No. Don't even say that, Elyon!" Cornelia yelled. "You can't fight Dalthar. We can't even fight Dalthar. We need more firepower!"

"And that's exactly what you'll get." The Oracle held out his palms toward the women and closed his eyes. His hands let out a white aura.

The Heart of Candracar pulsed in Irma's clenched fist. A green auramere floated to Anne, turquiose to Elizabeth, orange to Joan Lin, and blue to Theresa. Finally, a second Heart of Candracar appeared in Susan's left hand.

"Welcome back, Guardians." Yan Lin smiled.

* * *

I know that in the books, Cornelia absorbed all the power and revived Caleb, but let's pretend the Oracle had that power, OK?

Am I keeping Irma in character pretty well? Tell me if I am or not, please! Thanks!


	14. The Secret's Out

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 14: "The Secret's Out"**

"If this wasn't happening, I wouldn't believe it." Cornelia said.

"I still don't believe it." Irma commented.

"I'm releasing the time barrier, Guardian's." The Oracle warned. "Until we meet again." Him and Yan Lin disappeared and the hectic confusion resumed.

Matt and Nigel ran up to them. "What happened? Why are you dressed like that? And where'd Will, Taranee and Hay Lin go?"

"And that monster?" Nigel added.

"It's a long story. Mom, should we tell them?" Cornelia asked warily.

"I don't see why not. If worse comes to worse, the Oracle can erase their memories."

"Alright. Here goes..." Cornelia sighed.

-**Far from Heatherfield**-

"Where are we?" Hay Lin caught Will and Taranee in midair before they fell to the floor.

"I don't know. We must have gotten separated from Dalthar in that portal." Taranee answered.

"I don't know how long we can stay like this guys." Will commented. "I dropped the Heart on the other side of the portal."

"I'm sure Irma or Cornelia has it." Taranee assured her.

"Do you think they can keep their heads together and find us? You know them two." Hay Lin wondered.

"But I think when they have to, they can work together. I trust them." Will said.

"We'll have to." Hay Lin added. "But for now, let's just look around. We need to figure out this place."

"It's pitch dark in here. Let me give us some light. I don't know how long I can keep it up, though." Taranee summoned a fireball in hand. "There, much better."

-**Heatherfield**-

The girls, parents, Matt and Nigel had all gathered inside Irma's house for the story.

The boys were appalled. "So, Will has these powers?"

"And they're in this other world?" Nigel added.

Cornelia nodded. "I know this sounds crazy, but it's true. It took me a while to get used to the idea, too."

"A while, Corny? I don't know of-"

"Shut up, Irma. We need to find Will, Hay Lin and Taranee. Since Will doesn't have the Heart, they're pretty much defenseless against Dalthar."

"But who knows where they are." Elyon sighed.

"Mrs. Vandom, can your Heart locate Will?" Cornelia asked.

Susan shook her head. "Unfortunately, it can't. It can only locate other Hearts." She frowned. "The only way to find Will is for the Heart Irma has to react to Will's presence."

"No offense, Mrs. Vandom, but they could be anywhere. They might not even be in Metamoor!" Irma cried.

Just then, Irma and Cornelia's Guardian outfits disappeared.

"There goes our powers. I hope Will and the others are OK..."

-**The other girls**-

Hay Lin was using her powers over the air to transport Will and Taranee quicker.

"See anything yet?" Will looked up at the air Guardian.

Hay Lin shook her head. "Sorry. But we're making pretty good progress. Don't you thi-"

Hay Lin's magic vanished and Taranee's fireball disappeared. Their clothes returned to normal and they spiraled toward the bottom of the narrow hallway.

"Hold on, guys!" Hay Lin yelled and concentrated on the floor. A wisp of air appeared where they would land. The air slowed their fall.

Hay Lin landed on top of Will and Taranee. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah, thanks, Hay Lin."

"Quick thinking." Will agreed.

"There goes our powers." Hay Lin stood up. "Maybe Irma and Cornelia won't be too long in finding us. Wait! I hear something coming!"

"What is it?" Will asked.

There was a loud stomping and the walls shook.

"I-I don't think I like the sound of that..." Taranee stammered.

The creature came into view.

"Is that a... centaur?" Will asked.

The centaur-like creature charged toward them.

Taranee created a small wall of fire in front of it. When the flames didn't bother it, Hay Lin blew them toward the centaur's face. Unfortunately, that didn't phase him either. It went straight through the flames.

It was inches from the girls. They couldn't do anything about it. It was still charging, and the girls didn't have strong enough magic to stop him.

* * *

Some made up facts in this chapter: The Oracle can erase memories and the Heart being able to find other Hearts. Atleast, they haven't been revealed in up to Book 18: Keeping Hope.

Also, there is an important author's note I added to my profile you should read.


	15. An Urgent Message

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 15: "An Urgent Message"**

Yan Lin suddenly appeared on the table in front of Cornelia and Irma with a frightened expression.

"Ms. Lin!" Irma jumped.

Cornelia frowned. "You're a hologram. What's wrong, Ms. Lin? Are Will and the others OK?"

"No. They are being attacked."

"What! Dalthar?"

In answer, Yan Lin was replaced by another projection.

Everyone gasped.

Will, Taranee and Hay Lin fell from the air and then tried to defend themselves from a centaur. Neither Taranee or Hay Lin's attacks worked.

"Will, can't you do something?" Hay Lin frowned.

Will got to her feet, helping Taranee up. "Not without the Heart. Do you have enough power to fly us up?"

Hay Lin shook her head in dismay. "Run, guys!"

"And I thought Dalthar was going to be our biggest problem!" Taranee yelled.

The projection vanished.

"Will!" Matt's eyes widened.

"What's going to happen to them?" Nigel asked.

"They'll be fine." Susan said. "Will's the Keeper of the Heart of Candracar."

"But she doesn't have the Heart..." Elyon shook her head. "And it's my fault you guys are in this situation."

"No, it's not, Elyon! If it wasn't for you, I'd still be holed up in my room and our powers wouldn't be restored."

"Cornelia's right." Caleb said. "But right now, we need to save Will, Hay Lin and Taranee. Without the Heart, they're powerless."

"Elyon, are you coming with us?" Irma stood up. "I know our parents will have to go for us to even stand a chance against Dalthar."

She nodded. "Of course I'm coming."

"So, you all are going to this... Meridian?" Agent McTiennan asked cautiously.

"Didn't you listen to _any_ of our story?" Cornelia was clearly annoyed.

"Don't worry about them, Cornelia. Remember what your mom said. The Oracle can erase their memories." Caleb assured her.

"Let's go." Cornelia was the first one out the door.

Susan felt the Heart of Candracar inside her. "We're ready."

-**Elyon's basement**-

"We can go in there, but we're not even sure that they're in Metamoor." Irma said.

"But it's worth a try. We have to find them." Cornelia responded. "We have to put our differences aside. That means no smart comments, Irma." She still faced the portal.

"Girls, let's just go." Elizabeth said calmly, trying to hide her shaking hands.

"Elizabeth?" Anne asked.

Susan looked at her team with a mournful look. "We're all scared, Elizabeth. It's been 13 years since any of us have done this. But we have to do this. If we don't go, it'll just be Irma, Cornelia and Elyon saving them. Irma and Cornelia wouldn't have their magic at full strength and Elyon's about as strong as they are now."

Cornelia squeezed Caleb's left hand for comfort.

"Cornelia, what's wrong?" Caleb watched her eyes close and head lower.

"Do you think we can do it? Save them and defeat Dalthar?"

"I know we can, Cornelia. I know _you_ can." He lifted her head, looked into her eyes and smiled.

She tried to blink back tears. "Oh, Caleb..."

Irma watched in edgy discomfort. _Cornelia... If she's getting shaky, that's bad. And our parents are scared. And me?_ She looked at her hand. It was shaking as well. _I'm shook up, too. This mission... It's the most dangerous one we've done. But we have to do it._ "We have to."

Everyone nodded and entered the portal.

From around the corner, two heads peered into the room.

"And they went in there?" Nigel asked Matt.

Matt nodded. He walked up to the portal and stuck his hand through it. "It's real... You sure we want to go?" Matt looked worried.

"You want to help Taranee, Will and the girls, don't you?" Nigel swallowed.

And so they jumped through the portal.

* * *

Would you guys be interested in a sequel to this story? I know this is only about halfway through, but I can start planning it now. Hey, I have 4 or 5 started already. I can start a Guardian's Past sequel after I finish this story, but only if any one is interested. 


	16. Earth Shattering Dispute

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter16: "Earth Shattering Dispute"**

Susan held out the Heart. "Ready, girls?"

A moment later, seven Guardian's were standing in Meridian.

"Whoa... it feels weird without them here..." Irma commented.

"But we'll get them back." Elyon said. "With all of us together, we should be able to stand a chance."

"And Susan's got the Heart." Joan pointed out. "We sealed him up last time, so this time, with an extra set of Guardians, it should be even easier."

"Should being the key word." Corneila said.

"Don't be so optimistic." Irma said sarcastically.

"Irma, from now on, just don't talk." Cornelia turned toward the girl with an angry scowl. "I'm tired of your useless remarks!" The ground shook beneath her. "We're here to save Will, Taranee, and Hay Lin. They have no magic to defend themselves from whatever attacks them! You'd just better hope, for your sake, Dalthar doesn't decide to go after them!" Cracks stemmed from under her.

"Corneila, calm down!" Her mother pulled Cornelia closer to her. "We know you're frustrated, but but we all are, honey."

"Well, now we know how important Will is as our leader." Irma said under her breath.

She gasped and redirected a small rock that was thrown at her with a small wave or water.

"I'm serious, Irma!" Cornelia yelled and pushed forward. Everyone but Irma followed wordlessly.

I_ don't know how long we can keep this up. Me and Cornelia are at wit's end already._ She balled her fists in frustration. _It's going to be up to our parents, unless we find the others soon._ She glanced at the Heart in her left hand. _We just got our full powers back. We shouldn't be fighting again._ "Hey, wait up!" Irma yelled and ran up to meet them.

But she stopped when she heard rocks moving around to the right of her.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Why? They're gone now, Nigel."

"Nigel? Matt?" Irma peeked her head around the pile. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."

"Wha- Irma!"

"See, Matt? We got caught." Nigel accused.

"You better be glad you got caught. Only we can protect you if anything attacks."

"She has the point." Matt said.

"Come on. Wait, Mom! We've got stowaways!"

Anne turned toward her daughter. "Matt? Nigel?"

"What?" Cornelia stopped. "Oh, great." She sighed. "Why are you two here?"

"We want to help the girls out, too." Matt answered.

"Fine, but if you get left behind, you get left behind."

Cornelia, but they're just- " Caleb started.

Irma finished. "Cornelia, they don't have powers like we do. They have to stay with us." Irma stepped in front of Cornelia and looked into her face with a scowl. "Us, as in a team. Our parents, me, you, and, when we find them, Will, Hay Lin and Taranee. It's not your decision as to what we do. You're not our leader. If anybody's the leader, it's Mrs. Vandom. She has the Heart."

Cornelia balled her fists up and gritted her teeth. "Irma, just-" The ground in front of her split open and Irma fell through. She tried to grab onto the side and even Cornelia's, who was suddenly panicked, outstretched hand, but it was too late.

"Air!" Theresa, out of instinct, tried to grab her with the wind, but she had fallen too far. "No!" The woman cried in anguish.

"Irma..." Anne whispered silently.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't catch her." Theresa said.

"No, it's not your fault, Mrs. Cook." Cornelia had her head lowered, gazing down the crack. "It's all my fault. I... I shouldn't have gotten so mad at her. She's just as worried about them as I am. She was just... Elyon, where's she drop to?"

"An underground cavern. Phobos made sure he had enough passageways to protect the castle from an attack from you guys."

"Then I'm going to look for her." Cornelia pressed her palms and summoned a vine to hang down the crevace.

"It'd be best if I went. I can fly around much quicker than you can walk." Theresa spoke up.

"No. I'm going. I don't care how many come with me, but I have to go. It's my fault she's down there to start with."

But when Cornelia and Theresa got down there, Irma was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Before you flame me about Cornelia being mean to Irma, I figured out of all of them, it'd be her that would lose her nerve. It'll be more evident as to why I put it like this in the next few chapters. The end result of their arguememt will set a foundation for the sequel.

Think about it, Irma is alone, with limited power, and she has Will's Heart; Will, Taranee and Hay Lin are together, with next to no power because they don't have the Heart; and then you have the main group.

And, don't forget, Dalthar is somewhere... but where?


	17. A New Lead

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 17: "A New Lead"**

"Nothing. She wasn't down there." Cornelia told them when Theresa flew her back up.

"This is bad. First it's Will, Taranee and Hay Lin, now it's Irma and she's alone." Joan said.

_And Dalthar didn't even separate Irma from us... I did._ Cornelia added silently. _If she gets hurt because of me... She already hates me._

"Cornelia, what's wrong?" Caleb embraced her. "You can tell me."

"Nothing. Let's just go..." Cornelia looked behind her to the others. "...together."

----------

Will had tricked the centaur. She made him run into a rock wall. Hay Lin and Taranee praised her for her manuever.

"It's almost night... How close do you think they are to finding us?" Hay Lin asked.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure Irma and Cornelia even know how to work together." Taranee said. "Only them and Elyon probably came to look for us. And what are they going to tell our parents? They saw the battle. They'll have questions. I don't even want to know what'll happen if the girls tell our parents the truth."

"They'd ground us for life, and keep us under lock and key." Will provided. She opened her right hand. "If I just had the Heart..."

"Hey, I heard something!" Hay Lin suddenly yelled. She ran ahead, the others following her.

They came to the end of the cave. The exit slanted upward toward the light. The three girls shielded their eyes from the sudden blast of light. They walked forward slowly and Hay Lin fell where a huge crevace was.

Will snatched her hand to keep her from falling all the way down. "What in Meridian did that?"

"It looks like Cornelia's work. There's a vine hanging down to the bottom." Taranee held the sturdy vine up for them to see.

Hay Lin opened her eyes. She had closed them as a reflex when she fell. "The way the wind's blowing down there, it seems like someone changed the air patterns. But only I could have that effect. Not only that, but look behind you." She pointed to the ground behind Will. "From the direction the wind is going, whoever was here, went that way not long ago." She flicked her thumb behind her.

"But why would that matter?" Taranee asked.

"There were 11 people."

----------

"Stupid Cornelia." Irma said outloud. After she had fallen, she couldn't hear anything from the surface. "Cornelia probably just told them to forget about me anyway. Then it's a good thing I got separated from her. She can be the leader if she wants. This way, I won't be able to get in the way of her Highness. Only..."

She looked around cautiously. "I'm alone. If anything attacks..." She didn't finish that thought. She walked on ahead.

----------

Matt and Nigel lagged behind the others. Ghiro poked his head out of Matt's right pocket. It flicked its whiskers at Matt.

"Hey, little guy." Matt let the dormouse into his palms. "Are you worried about Will, too? Don't worry. We all want to find her. Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin too. I won't let anything happen to you. Will entrusted you to me."

It squeaked in response.

There was suddenly a loud roar to the group's left.

When it came into view, Cornelia gasped. "It's that centaur that was attacking Will, Hay Lin and Taranee!"

"Oh, no! What happened to them?" Matt cried. Out of fright, Ghiro dashed from Matt's hand. "Ghiro!"

"Let me blow him away." Theresa shot a funnel of wind at the centaur. It tried to step forward against the wind, but it couldn't.

"Let's heat things up around here." Joan blasted a stream of fire at the funnel and huge flames engulfed the centaur. "Looks like we're having burnt Metamoorian creature for a late dinner.

"No thanks. I think I'll pass." Cornelia said and glanced at Anne. "Want to help me get him out of the way?"

Both earth Guardians put thier palms on the ground. Thick, round vines erupted from the ground and wrapped and lifted the centaur in the air.

"That should do it." Cornelia gave her a thumbs up.

----------

"11? Are you sure, Hay Lin?" Will asked.

"Positive. I may not be at my best, but I'm still the only air Guardian."

"But if there were 11 people, that would mean eight extra people had to come with Elyon, Irma and Cornelia." Taranee said.

"That what scares me. What also scares me is who would have the power, besides me, to change wind currents?"

"A new type of enemy maybe?" Will suggested. "If so, we're in trouble. That's all we need. Enemies that can use our powers as well as we can."

"And if that's the case, and if they team up against Cornelia, Irma and Elyon, they'll be trapped." Hay Lin said.

"Or even worse..." Taranee looked them in the face. "If they go after us."


	18. Fighting Alone

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 18: "Fighting Alone"**

Theresa shook her head. "I don't hear anything."

Cornelia growled in frustration. "We have to find Dalthar. We just have to."

"Shouldn't we be more concerned about finding the girls?" Nigel asked.

"If Dalthar gets to them first, there won't any girls to find." Cornelia said. "I think we should try to go near water. That would probably be where Irma would go, right, Mom?"

Elizabeth nodded. "That's where our powers are at our strongest."

"I just hope we run into Irma and the girls before Dalthar."

----------

Irma snapped her head at the sound of water. "Water? If anything attacks, at least I'll be at my best without the Heart."

She ran to the side of the small river and swirled the water around her fingers. "At least my powers haven't completely vanished. Maybe the Heart has something to do with it." The pendant glowed in her fight hand.

She heard a squeak under the water, the sound heightened by the stale air. "What was that?" Irma scanned the water slowly, not knowing what to expect.

"Ghiro!" She retrieved the wet dormouse and dried him off using her powers. "There. All better now. What are doing here little guy? Did you fall through the same crack I did?"

The dormouse scurried onto Irma's right wrist and sniffed the object in her hand. "Ghiro? Oh, did you smell Will on this? I'm sorry, but Will on this? I'm sorry, but Will is nowhere near here. If she was, the Heart would react. Don't worry, little guy. We all want to find Will."

Another sound came from Irma's right. Her face paled. "Oh, no, don't tell me it's Dalthar!"

The dark creature came into view. "I smell that you have the Heart of Candracar, Water Guardian."

Irma screamed and Ghiro leaped from her wrist and slipped through a small crack in the rock. Irma immediately started running away from the river, not even thinking about that being her best defense.

_I can't face Dalthar. I wouldn't stand a chance. And I won't let him get his hands on the Heart!_

----------

Ghiro poked his head of a small crack in the rock. It turned toward a group of voices.

"Do you think we're near the end of this cave?" Will asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon." Hay Lin looked ahead and did a doubletake. "Hey, is that your dormouse, Will?" She pointed near a crack on her left.

"What? Ghiro?" Will picked the dormouse up, still not believing it was her pet. "I left you with Matt." She gasped. "Hay Lin, you don't think..."

"But why would Matt be here?" Taranee wondered.

Will shook her head and frowned. "I don't know, Taranee... But if Matt's here, who knows who else is here..."

----------

"Look, there's a path that leads to an underground cave." Elyon yelled. "And I think that leads to the only one with water, a small river."

"Then she'd be there. Let's go." Cornelia led the way.

----------

_I can't outrun him..._ Irma thought desperately. _But I can't fight him either._

Dalthar hit both walls so a pile of rocks blocked Irma's path.

She was trapped.

_Stupid Irma. You ran away from your power source._ She scolded herself. "But no use complaining." She shot a blast of water at Dalthar's face.

Dalthar felt the spot and smiled. "I didn't even feel that, girl." He swiped his left hand at her and Irma dived out of the way.

_I felt the wind from that one. Somehow, I've got to escape. He'll tear me to shreds if I don't do something, and soon._ She managed to dogde another one of Dalthar's fists by boosting herself on a water spurt.

Dalthar slammed his left hand at Irma. She was knocked into the wall. "No!" She gasped as her Guardian outfit vanished. _I was already powerless against Dalthar before..._

She stood up shakily. "Where'd you get all that power? You weren't this strong before." She grimaced. _Maybe... If I can just stall long enough, help will come... Wait, who I am kidding? Cornelia doesn't care about my safety. My only chance is Will. I could give her the Heart and the four of us could atleast stand a chance._

"Why would you care, Guardian?" Dalthar stepped up closer to her.

Irma tried to run from her enemy, but Dalthar jerked her left hand back. "Give me the Heart." He pinned her against the wall.

"Never, Dalthar. You'd have to-"

"Kill you? I'd be honored." He grabbed her by her neck.

"Prepare for your end, Guardian."

Irma lost consciousness soon after from lack of oxygen.


	19. The True Meaning of Friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 19: "The True Meaning of Friendship"**

Dalthar laughed at his prey. "She was too easy. Now will be the fun part: putting her out of her misery."

"Put her down, Dalthar! Immediately!" It was followed by a huge chunk of a rock slamming into Dalthar's face.

Irma's body dropped to the floor, the Heart of Candracar still clenched tightly in her right hand.

Cornelia rushed to her friend and tried to shake her awake. "Irma, wake up!"

"She changed back to normal while she fought Dalthar. She didn't have enough power. You'll pay, Dalthar!" Anne yelled.

"Will I?" Dalthar quickly recovered from Cornelia's attack and hit Anne aside. He glared at Irma. "She has the Heart of Candracar! I want it!"

"Huh?" Cornelia glanced at Irma's right hand and softly pried the pendant from it without letting Dalthar see. "Irma, you've got to wake up! Dalthar, he-"

"Move, earth Guardian!" Dalthar kicked Cornelia and jerked Irma toward him. "I'll beat the Heart out of her."

Before anyone could attack, Dalthar swiped through the air and created a portal. He jumped through it.

"Come back here!" Cornelia screamed, but her mother stopped her from following them into the portal. "If you go through, Candracar only knows where you'll end up!"

"He didn't know about my Heart." Susan commented sadly. "That's the only reason he wanted Irma."

"He also wants to kill her." Cornelia's voice was low. Her head was down. "All because of me, she could be dead right now!" She stomped her foot and started crying softly. "I never did treat her like a real friend... Always shooting down her comments, whether they were useful or not... I..."

"Cornelia..." Caleb hugged her gently from behind. "She's a Guardian of the Veil. She can survive against Dalthar."

Cornelia pushed him away angrily. "No, Caleb, she can't!" She looked into his startled eyes. "Didn't you see her a moment ago? She would have killed right then if I hadn't done anything! And now she's alone with Dalthar, unconscious!"

"Don't worry, Cornelia." Joan said. "We'll find Irma again and the other girls." She turned toward Susan. "What I didn't get is why he didn't recognize us. Maybe he didn't get a good look at us?"

"Irma doesn't have the Heart of Candracar anymore." Cornelia opened her left hand to reveal the magical orb. "She..." She dried up the last of her tears slowly. "She was going to give up her life to protect the Heart."

"And she wasn't even its Keeper." Elyon said. "But it's just like Mrs. Lin said. We will meet up with them again safe and sound."

Cornelia walked around the corner. "I'll be back. I'm going for a walk."

"Cornelia-"

"No, Caleb." Elizabeth told him. "She needs the alone time. I was just like with Theresa. Cornelia's just come to realize the true meaning of friendship."

"But I thought they already were friends." Elyon spoke up.

Susan answered. "They are, and that's the only time they can harness the full potential of their magic. But there's another level of friendship even deeper than that. Will and Taranee can say they're best friends, but they haven't experienced what Cornelia has for Irma."

"A matter of life and death. The two people who are furthest apart - always letting the other down - come together in on moment." Elizabeth added. "All five of us have gone through it. It makes us more powerful. It's a type of power nothing from Candracar or the Oracle can give us. It comes from within."

-------

Cornelia squeezed the Heart of Candracar in her left hand. _Irma, I'll get you back if it's the last thing I do. I know I've not always listened to what you've had to say... and I'm sorry._

Cornelia stopped and sat down against a nearby rock. _Wait, what am I saying? I've never had these thoughts before. What... What happened to make me feel this way?_

She smiled. _Irma would love this. She'd have some witty comment to say. She... always does._

-----

Cornelia walked back to the group cheerfully. "I'm ready."

-----

Yan Lin smiled. _So, Cornelia is about to discover the power of the Candracharms. When she find Irma again. I wonder when my little Hay Lin will find her own Candracharm._ "Hello, Oracle." She said when she sensed his approach.

"Hello, Yan Lin. It is going as planned?"

"Yes. Cornelia is beginning to discover her Candracharm."

"And the others will soon follow." The Oracle narrowed his eyes toward the left corner of the room. "Luba, no need to hide. You know you are wrong in your assumptions. The earth Guardian is well on her way to gaining her Candracharm."

"The... Candracharms!" Luba walked from her hiding spot in disbelief, forgetting the embarrassing fact that she was discovered. _Impossible! Their friendship is supposed to fail! _Her whiskers twitched with annoyance as she smiled. _And they still will, if I have anything to do about it._


	20. Life Struggle

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h. 

Ironically, I picked up Graphic Novel 5 - Between Light and Dark today and noticed the the Metamoor gardener's name is Daltar. No connection to Dalthar, really...

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 20: "Life Struggle"**

Dalthar threw Irma on the floor of the cave. "Wake up, girl, and give me the Heart of Candracar."

He noticed her right hand halfway opened. "What? That girl... the earth Guardian..." A mental image of Cornelia came to his mind. He growled in anger and frustration. "Her... She must have taken it! Curse her!" He growled again and stomped off, leaving Irma on the floor in search for Cornelia.

----------

"Do you hear that?" Hay Lin asked. "It sounds like stomping!"

"You think it's Dalthar? We can't fight him!" Taranee cried.

Ghiro suddenly jumped from Will's hands and scurried toward a curve in the cave.

"Ghiro! Wait up! Where are you going?" Will ran up to follow it. She immediately stopped and gasped. "Irma!"

"Irma?" Hay Lin's heart skipped a beat.

"Irma!" Taranee ran to her and put her right ear to Irma's chest. She breathed a sigh of relief. "She's still alive... Thank goodness. She's unconscious."

"Dalthar must have done it." Will hissed through her teeth.

"Irma... Wake up." Hay Lin kneeled beside her friend and closed her eyes. The wind around her swirled.

"What are you doing, Hay Lin?" Taranee asked.

She didn't answer. Instead, she pushed against Irma's chest and Irma immediately started coughing.

"Irma!" Will and Taranee smiled and raced to hug her.

Irma felt Ghiro sniff her right hand.

"Huh? Hay Lin? Guys?" Irma blinked in confusion. "And Ghiro? Oh, no!" She bolted upright with her eyes wide open when she realized what the dormouse was trying to find. "The Heart! It's gone!"

"Didn't you give it to Cornelia?" Will asked suprisingly calm.

"Cornelia!" Irma spat her name as it was vemon. "Why would I give it to her?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Hay Lin frowned. "Did... you two have a fight?"

"I wish!" Irma got up and brushed herself off. "She made me fall down a hole she made in the ground, knowing I'm weaker by myself. She wanted me gone anyways."

"That was probably the crevace we saw earlier." Taranee said. "There was a vine hanging down, too, like Cornelia and Elyon went down after you."

"Don't forget the wind pattern was changed." Hay Lin added.

"Cornelia didn't go after me. Elyon and the others might have did."

"Others?" Hay Lin whispered.

"But only Cornelia could make the vine." Will said.

"My mom probably did."

"Your mom's here!" Hay Lin yelled.

"Oh, that's right. You weren't there when that happened." Irma said to herself.

"When what happened?"

Irma shook her head. "I think they should tell you."

"They?" Must be the other eight people Hay Lin was talking about.

"You again!" Dalthar came from around the curve with a frown.

"Dalthar!" Irma chirped. "Give me back the Heart!" She swallowed.

"I didn't take it."

"Liar! You're the only enemy who wants it!"

"The earth Guardian took it from you while you were unconscious." He suddenly smiled. "Yes. I could use you four as hostages to get the Heart back."

"What? Cornelia took it? Figures..." Irma made a note to herself to give Cornelia a piece of her mind when she saw her again. If I see her again.

Dalthar started charging and the four girls scattered.

"Irma! Watch out!" Hay Lin yelled.

"Huh?" But Irma couldn't dogde it. She had used most of her energy in previous struggle.

"You're weak without your powers. I'll get you four easily."

"Think again, Dalthar." Hay Lin threw a blast of wind, but he didn't even flinch.

"That was nice breeze." Dalthar smiled and punched her in the stomach.

"Hay Lin!" Will shouted, but she knew it was useless. She knew she was powerless without the Heart. Unlike the others, who were able to manipulate water, fire, earth and air at least a little bit in their normal forms, Will couldn't do a thing.

Taranee threw a fireball at Dalthar, but he deflected it.

It went toward Hay Lin. Out of instinct, she defended herself with a pocket of wind.

Taranee knew it was a mistake a split second before the small flame exploded.

The fire explosion blew Hay Lin back, her breathing in short raspy gasps.

"Hay Lin!" Irma managed to stand up but couldn't extinguish the flames.

Taranee and Will ran over to Hay Lin. Irma was going to, but Dalthar snatched her left arm back. "You're coming with me. Along with your friends."

He smiled.

* * *

Am I allowed to put the word "curse"? If I am not, please tell me so I can change it!

I'm not sure if Will can use her powers in her normal form or not. I don't recall an instance where she did in the books, battle-wise. I know she can talk to appliances, and fix them, etc. Tell me if she can use her powers in her normal form if you know.


	21. The First Candracharm

Disclaimer: I do not own W.i.t.c.h. 

OOC warning: Cornelia will seem a little OOC, but that was the purpose of the Candracharm.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 21: "The First Candracharm"**

Cornelia froze when she heard Irma scream. _Irma! She is alive... for now._ She raced ahead of the others.

----------

Dalthar enjoyed hearing Irma scream when her arm popped. She fell, holding her left arm with her right. _No... We're done for. Cornelia would never come and help us... and the others would never leave her alone in this place._ "D-Dal-"

"Irma, I'm here! Earth!" Cornelia threw a chunk of rock at Dalthar's right arm and caught Irma before she hit the cave floor.

"Cornelia?" The other three girls smiled.

"Here, Will!" Cornelia tossed the Heart to her.

"The Heart!" Will grasped it desperately. "Welcome back, old friend. Irma, water! Taranee, fire! Hay Lin, air!"

"No, not that!" Dalthar cried.

"Don't forget about us, Dalthar." Susan smiled.

The creature's eyes widened with fear. "No... You're... You're them... You're..." He didn't hesitate to speed off.

"He recognized us." Joan Lin joked.

"Cornelia, Irma, what is going on?" Taranee asked.

"You owe us an explanation..." Will glanced behind them and saw her mother holding a second Heart of Candracar. She gasped. "And_what_ is my mom holding? Why are our parents here?"

"Why are they in Guardian outfits?" Hay Lin couldn't help but stare.

"Why are Matt and... Nigel here?" Taranee added silently. "And I thought Caleb was a flower!"

"Calm down, guys." Cornelia assured them. "I'll explain. A lot has happened in a short amount of time. First of all, Matt and Nigel are here because they were worried about you three. The Oracle changed Caleb back. And..." She sighed. "And as for our parents... Well, you know how Dalthar said we weren't the Guardians he was looking for?"

"You mean..." Hay Lin slapped her right hand over her mouth.

"They were Guardians before us?" Taranee finished with an awed look.

"That would certainly explain why the wind was changed at the crevace we saw." Hay Lin said.

"That was me." Theresa flew up over the group with a smile.

"And... mom?" Will looked at Susan, still not believing it was real.

She held her Heart up and pointed to it. "Mrs. Hale has power over water, Mrs. Lair has power over earth, and Mrs. Lin has power over fire."

Will, Taranee and Hay Lin had to take time to register the revelation.

"Hold on." Irma shot a blast of water at Cornelia. "I've got a bone to pick with you. You almost killed me! You knew I had no magic and you deliberately separated me from Mrs. Vandom!"

"Irma..." Cornelia said silently.

"Dalthar could have killed me. I don't know who saved me, but I_do_ know that you took the Heart from me!"

"_He_ was about to take the Heart from _you_, Irma!"

"Cornelia, you haven't changed one bit. You're still the only one in the group that wants to do everything by herself. The selfish-"

"Irma..." Cornelia suddenly ran up to her and hugged her. "Oh, Irma..."

"C-Cornelia?" Irma whispered, stunned.

"Irma..." Cornelia couldn't hold back her tears anymore. "I was worried sick about you. I thought Dalthar was going to kill you for sure..."

"Cornelia-"

"I'm not finished. I thought I was going to lose you, Irma. I thought I wasn't ever going to get a chance to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Irma asked, quietly, but sincerely. This was a new side of Cornelia that nobody had ever seen.

Cornelia's eyes smiled while her tears made them glisten. She gazed at Irma. "To tell you what you mean to me. You're one of my best friends, Irma, despite your witty comments. You always have been, I just..." She closed her eyes. "...didn't know how to show it. I would have never forgiven myself if anything happened to you. Your fall made me realize that."

"C-Cornelia..." Irma said in disbelief under her breath. She couldn't say anything else.

Everybody else was silent. They were just watching in awe.

A bright light shone inbetween Irma and Cornelia.

"Huh?" Cornelia opened her hands and felt a round object appear in her palms. "What... What is this thing?"

"It's called a Candracharm, Cornelia." Her mother said. "It makes you more powerful."

"A Candracharm?" Cornelia looked at it's smooth edges. There was filled white circle in the middle and another white circle outlining that one. The rest was green.

"Yes, a Candracharm. Now that we're together, we need to get going. We don't want Dalthar rampaging through all of Metamoor."

"But, wait a minute, mom! Can't you give me a better explanation?" Cornelia stood up, her Candracharm in her right hand.

"We'll tell you later, Cornelia." Susan said. "Because I think there will be a lot of talking that will need to be done after we defeat Dalthar."

"Will!" Matt embraced her. "Thank goodness you're OK!"

Will smiled. "Yeah. I am, too."

"Uh, Taranee." Nigel lowered his head to hide his embarrassment.

Taranee's cheeks turned a light shade of pink through her dark skin. "It's OK, Nigel... You don't have to say anything."

Nigel nodded. "Yeah... I just... I'm glad you're OK."

Irma slowly got to her feet, Cornelia's words echoing in her mind. _So, she **did** want to save me. And I was thinking that she didn't care... How wrong I was._ She smiled to herself and brought up the rear of the group. _Maybe... Maybe everything will be alright. I hope._

* * *

If you didn't guess, Cornelia's Candracharm is her symbol. So are the other girl's when they get them. If you don't have the books or any episode recorded... any website has them pictured. 


	22. The Power of the Candracharm

Disclaimer: I don't ownW.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 22: "The Power of the Candracharms"**

Irma glanced at Cornelia with a questioning look. The earth Guardian was walking confidently in the middle of the group. _A Candracharm? What in the world is that? Well, they are right about one thing. We will have questions and I'm sure Will, Taranee and Hay Lin have more than us._ She smiled. _But that Candracharm thing Cornelia has really changed her attitude about things._

"Irma, what are you thinking about?" Hay Lin looked behind her with a bright smile.

"Nothing really. Just of what's happened recently." Irma liked the fact that Hay Lin could sense someone's mood, not just go in and read their thoughts like Taranee could. Not that Taranee would. She did have morals.

"There's the end of the tunnel!" Elyon pointed in front of her.

But as soon as they reached the entrance and half the group had gotten through, the entrance became blocked with falling rocks.

Cornelia fell backward, grateful that she had not taken another step. If she had, she'd be flat as a pancake.

"Everybody OK over there?" Susan yelled.

"We're OK. Are you?" Will yelled back. "Seven of us here."

"Seven on this side, too. We're all accounted for." Susan answered.

"This is another one of Dalthar's tricks, isn't is?" Anne frowned. Her, Elyon, Caleb, Nigel, Susan, Elizabeth and Taranee with her.

"Atleast we have a Heart of both sides." Hay Lin pointed out. Her, Cornelia, Irma, Will, Matt, Joan and Theresa were on the inside. "But why does he want us separated?"

"To slow us down, maybe?" Joan wondered.

"We won't be for long." Anne walked up the the pile of rocks and pressed her palms to them. "I'll move them. Watch out!"

Cornelia saw them budge, but not enough. "I'll help Mrs. Lair!"

"No, don't, Cornelia!" her mother yelled, but it was too late. The rocks blasted from the entrance and sped past Elizabeth.

Cornelia stood appalled at her own power. She stared at her hands. _But I never even touched the rocks..._

"Caleb!" Elyon gasped.

"Oh, no!" Cornelia ran to him. "I hit you with one of the rocks didn't I?" She helped him up. "Caleb, are you alright? I'm so sorry! I never even touched those rocks. I didn't intend to do that!"

Caleb touched his head with his right hand gingerly. "Luckily, it was a small one. I'll be OK. A small headache is all."

"Here, I'll make it all better." Cornelia softly kissed his head.

"Is that why you told her not to do it, Mrs. Hale?" Irma asked.

"Yes. That Candracharm..." Elizabeth closed her eyes. "It makes her powerful, but without knowing how to control that power... Well, you saw the result."

"It could end up hurting us instead of helping us." Will nodded gravely. She gazed at Cornelia. "Cornelia-"

"I know, Will. I heard." The earth Guardian stood up and returned Will's solemn gaze. "So you don't need me in the fight with Dalthar."

"I didn't say that!" Will protested and averted her eyes downward. "I mean, we need you, but..."

"I know what you mean." Cornelia sighed.

"But we're the power of five..." Taranee spoke up. "Don't we need Cornelia, no matter what?" She had a pleading look on her face. "Will?"

"But don't forget about our parents." Will said. "Mrs. Lair has power over earth like Cornelia."

"Will's right." Cornelia smiled at Taranee grimly. "Without me, you are still the power of nine. Mrs. Vandom has a Heart, so you should be twice as powerful."

Over to the side, Joan smiled. _Don't they remind you of us so many years ago? Working together?_

Susan nodded. _Yes, they do._ She smiled as she watched her daughter talk to her team. _I'm proud of Will. When the Oracle told us that she and the other girls were to be the Guardians, I knew that that would be a great opportunity for Will to have true friends._

Cornelia frowned. "OK, I'll sit this one out, but only because I'd hurt the team."

"It's OK, Cornelia." Irma patted her on the shoulder. "We won't forget you while we duke it out with Dalthar."

"Thanks, Irma." Cornelia said sarcastically, but smiled. "Besides, someone needs to make sure Matt or Nigel doesn't get hurt."

Will smiled. "Good thinking, Cornelia. All we need to do now is find Dalthar."

"Too late." Elyon shakily pointed into the distance. "He found us."

"Queen Elyon!" The voice came from Dalthar, but everyone knew he wouldn't call her that. "Your Majesty, help me!"

Dalthar walked toward them and laughed. "I have your friend, Guardians. Can you save him?"

Elyon gritted her teeth. "He's got Weldor, guys! Be careful!"

Will and Susan tightened their grip on their Heart, Irma and Elizabeth clenched their fists, Taranee and Joan Lin summoned a fireball in their hands, Anne thrust her palms forward, and Hay Lin and Theresa took off into the air.

"Don't worry, we will." Will smiled.

* * *

The final battle has begun! These are the final chapters in the story, so prepare yourselves!

Imagine that final scene, all 9 Guardians ready to fight... Not that you know what their parents look like in Guardian outfits...


	23. The Blazing Tornado of Fury

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.! 

Sorry it took me so long, guys! I haven't forgotten this story!

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 23: "The Blazing Tornado of Fury"  
**  
"You can't save him." Dalthar said confidentally. He just held Weldor in his left hand, who was understandably shaking with fear.

"Who says?" Hay Lin smiled. Her hair swirled around her as she prepared for battle.

"This is it, guys. The final battle." Will gazed at her Heart and frowned. "What... What it comes down to..."

"Will." Her mother hugged her gently. "It's going to be OK. You can do it."

"Can I?" Will whispered, holding back tears. "Dalthar... he's so powerful. He separated us and almost killed Irma."

"But you have us." Taranee smiled. The others slowly surrounded Will and formed a circle, holding hands.

Dalthar smiled. "Foolish... Getting together, making it easier for me to kill you all." He threw Weldor behind him nonchalantly and charged toward the girls.

"Hold on, Weldor!" Theresa flew to catch Weldor.

"Will! Watch out!" Susan yelled.

Dalthar was coming closer. He sped up as he ran, laughing as he envisioned what the girls' death would be like.

Dalthar's fist was inches from Cornelia's neck.

"No!" Elizabeth gasped and slammed her palms to the ground, trying to call upon the underground water of Meridian.

But, suddenly, Cornelia's body let off a gently green aura. Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin's did the same: turquoise, red and blue. The energy blasted Dalthar back and was drawn to the middle - Will.

Her Heart of Candracar floated into the air but stopped because it was still around Will's neck. "What's happening?" She whispered.

"We're all with you, Will." Taranee said, flashing her a confident smile at her friend.

"We'll always be together, no matter what." Hay Lin added.

"Best friends forever, through thick and thin." Irma said.

"What they said." Cornelia simply added, but Will knew she meant it.

"Thanks, guys. Thanks a lot." Will pushed back the oncoming tears and smiled. She closed her eyes and focused her energy. The Heart drifted back down to here and the 4 girls parted.

"Die, Guardians!" Dalthar yelled.

"Not today." Will shot a pink blast of energy at Dalthar face and he slammed into the ground hard.

"Told you you could do it, sweetie." Susan smiled.

"Mom, not now..."

"Don't talk back to your mom, Will." Irma joked and walked up beside her.

"Stop joking around guys." Hay Lin hovered above them, the breeze blowing gently around her. "We need to take care of Dalthar." She raised her arms and twirled around until a whirlwind formed around her. "Try this, Dalthar!" She pushed the funnel at him with a huge burst of energy.

"Hay Lin, you could have warned us!" Irma shouted after her and Will jumped from Hay Lin's attack.

"Oh, sorry, guys."

"Hay Lin, watch out!" Will yelled in panic.

Dalthar had pushed her own attack back at her.

"Ah!" Hay Lin instinctively turned herself around and used the wind to propel herself away from it.

"No! It's coming toward us, Will!" Irma cried. "Hay Lin!"

"I can handle this, Irma. Don't worry." Theresa flew in front and held the funnel back. "Get out of the way, girls!"

"Need a lift?" Hay Lin's voice rang out and suddenly the two girls were floating.

"I've got it, Theresa." Susan surrounded the funnel with energy and Theresa flew away, relieved. "Here's a little gift, in special wrap, Dalthar!" Susan threw it back at him.

"Well, it's just a regular game of funnelball, isn't it?" Irma commented with a smile.

Let's add a little firepower." Taranee shot a burst of flames at the wind. Joan Lin did the same and Dalthar was engulfed in a blazing tornado of fury.

"And to finish it off..." Susan snapped her fingers and the whirlwind exploded. Dalthar began to yell in protest but the merciless fury of the explosion drowned his cries out.

Hay Lin flew around the perimeter of the twister, fanning the flames higher. The smoke cleared and Dalthar stepped out of it with only a few scratches.

"What? No way!" Hay Lin gasped and froze.

"Hay Lin!" Irma yelled.

Dalthar swung his left fist and swatted the air Guardian as if she were a fly.

"I've got you." Theresa created an air bubble to catch her.

"How'd he escape thet?" Will asked, still in disbelief. "How strong is this guy?"

"He's definitely stronger than we remember him to be." Susan responded with a frown.

"You can say that again." Anne muttered. "But, remember that our daughters are here. We're twice as powerful."

----------

"Caleb, don't go, please." Cornelia pleaded with Caleb.

"Dalthar's too strong for the Guardians, Cornelia. I have to help them in any way I can."

"But-"

"You can handle things here. I know you can." He smiled at her as he ran into the battlefield. "I'll be fine!"

"You better be." Cornelia whispered as she watched him get further away with saddened eyes.

----------

Dalthar balled up his fists and concentrated his power. Moments later, large spikes emerged all over his body.

"What are those things?" Taranee yelled and shot a flaming sphere of fire at Dalthar.

"Die, Guardians!" He yelled and the spikes shot from his body. One cut through Taranee's attack with ease and hit her in the stomach with an incredible force. She fell down , the wind knocked out of her.

"Taranee!" Will yelled and dogded a few of the spikes only to cause one to cut her on the right shoulder.

Irma tried knocking them back with burst of water. Cornelia formed a wall of vines to protect her, Nigel and Matt. Theresa created an air bubble around her and Hay Lin. Susan helped her daughter blast some of the spikes away from them. Anne, Elizabeth and Elyon did the same.

Cornelia gritted her teeth as she kept their protective barrier up when Nigel suddenly ran out onto the battleground. "Nigel, what are you doing?" Cornelia yelled.

He didn't answer as he hurried to carry Taranee to safety.

"Nigel, get back here - " She stopped mid-sentence and screamed as she saw one of the spikes thrust into Caleb's chest and out the other side. He fell to the ground and didn't move.

All Cornelia could do was scream.


	24. A Source's Power Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h. 

Before you start saying something along the lines of "She's finally got a chapter up" I never did forget about this story. If you kept up with Status of my stories on my profile, you would know that I never said I was discontinuing this story. And to all the people who said that I had better update this story, life comes first. Life just got ahead of me is all and I had to take care of that first before I got back on track with my stories. Those reviews didn't help in encouraging me to finish this story, it only helped discourage me. I really appreciate all those who have waiting patiently for me to continue this story. But, now the problem is dealt with and here's Chapter 24! And just as a note: This chapter may seem a bit off and short as I wrote half of it months ago and the second half in the past few days.

You might need to refer back to this during the chapter. I know I did while writing it anyway:  
Energy/Heart:Will Vandom and Susan Vandom(Will's mother)  
Water: Irma Lair and Elizabeth Hale(Cornelia's mother)  
Fire: Taranee Cook and Joan Lin(Hay Lin's mother)  
Earth: Cornelia Hale and Anne Lair(Irma's mother)  
Air: Hay Lin and Theresa Cook(Taranee's mother)

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 24: "A Source's Power Part 1"**

Nigel picked Taranee up and ran back behind Cornelia, dogding the rain of spikes. Theresa glanced at him and cracked a smile. _Maybe he is a good kid..._

"Caleb, no!" Cornelia yelled and ran beside him, leaving Nigel, Matt and Taranee wide open, since her vine wall receded.

"Don't, Cornelia!" Joan yelled as Cornelia started to pull it out, he'll lose too much blood." She redirected the spikes as best as she could using the wind.

"But he-"

"Don't worry about me, Cornelia." Caleb spoke and winced in pain. "Just take care of Dalthar, then I'll be better." He tried to smile through the pain.

"I'll atleast give you some protection." She put her palms on the ground and a vine barrier around him.

"I'll use my powers to keep him safe, Cornelia." Elyon stood beside him on the outside of the barrier. But, at that moment, the vines started growing wildly.

"No!" Cornelia frantically tried using her powers to stop the vines._ Mom was right._ She realized helplessly.

-**flashback**-

"Yes. That Candracharm..." Elizabeth closed her eyes. "It makes her powerful, but without knowing how to control that power... Well, you saw the result."

-**end of flashback**-

_I thought I could atleast use my powers for small tasks..._ The more Cornelia tried, the worse the vines got. "Forget this!" She yelled and pulled Caleb from the growing mess by his feet. She started running until she saw a pile of misshaped boulders to her left. "Over there!" She yelled to Matt and Nigel, who had Taranee in his hands. She glanced down at Caleb in her arms and smiled. _It'll be all right, Caleb._

Will blasted the last of the spikes in front of her and let out a sigh of relief as she saw Cornelia, Matt and Nigel duck behind some boulders with Taranee.

Elyon cried out as she stumbled back. Her powers weren't helping, but she was still trying to shrink the vines.

"Elyon!" Cornelia yelled. _I've got to help her somehow..._ She curled up her fists helplessly.

"Don't you dare move, Cornelia!" Joan shouted as she approached Elyon. "I can take care of these."

"Mrs. Lin!" Elyon protested. "Don't-"

"Don't worry." Joan smiled and shot a few flames at the weeds. After a few moments, the vines didn't recede, so she stepped back, releasing her fire. She gritted her teeth and pulled back her hands. _It's no use. Cornelia's magic is too powerful now that she has the Candracharm. It only I was as strong as I was when I was her age..._ She glanced at her daughter with Nigel. _With Taranee's power, I might be able to stop these vines, but she's still unconscious._

Dalthar swung his right fist, just barely missing Will. She stepped aside and countered with an energy blast. _He's fast..._ She balled her fists up and narrowed her eyes. We still can't defeat him, despite having double the power.

Joan looked up to see Theresa's air shield disappear and two of Dalthar's spikes flew at them. "Theresa, Hay Lin!" She yelled and released two fireballs to smolder them.

"Joan!" Anne shouted and green energy emitted from her palms, holding back the vines. Joan jumped back and glanced at the Earth Guardian. As she watched her hold the vines back, she gasped slightly.

_Wait a minute!_ "Anne!" Joan ran up to the weeds and burned her way through to the middle.

"Joan, what are-"

"Fire!" The Guardian shouted and thrust her palms on the ground, releasing a huge amount of energy into the softened soil. She concentrated harder and soon, the green turned to a darkend brown color, wilting. Joan stood up, catching her breath, and smiled. "I burned the roots."

"That was pretty smart." Irma looked over at Joan. She waved lightly and approached her. "Usually the source is the strongest part, not the weakest."

Hay Lin threw her hands forward, creating a small twister. It deflected Dalthar's left punch. "Irma, you should keep your guard up!" She said as she landed.

"Sorry, Hay Lin..." Irma smiled nervously.

"Hold on, Hay Lin, don't lecture her just yet." Will approached the Heart of Candracar to her left palm. "I have an idea. Mom, we need your team, also."

"Will, we're all worn out now. What do you think you're doing?" Susan frowned, showing signs of heaving breathing herself.

"Taranee's out, Will." Hay Lin told her.

"Whatever you're planning, it's not going to work, Guardians!" Dalthar growled and charged at them.

Hay Lin and Theresa held him back using thier powers. Will looked around her, and spotted Elyon crouched behind a rock. "Elyon, can' you try and wake Taranee with your powers?"

Elyon nodded and ran over to the small group. "Taranee, hang on! We need you!" She kneeled before Nigel and her palms glowed a clear white. Within a few moments, Taranee opened her eyes to see the Meridian Queen's smiling face.

"...Elyon? Wha-"

"Nevermind that now! The others need you!" Elyon quickly pulled her up and Taranee hurried over to Will.

Will yelled over at Cornelia. "Cornelia, you too!"

"But, Will! What about Cal-"

"Don't worry." Elyon spoke up. "I'll take care of these two while you guys defeat Dalthar once and for all." She smiled as her best friend turned and walked away.

"Good. We're all here." Will looked around to see all 10 Guardians.

"What are you going to do, Will?" Hay Lin asked as she and Theresa pushed Dalthar down and turned toward the group.

Will smiled at her and nodded. "We... We are going to defeat Dalthar."

* * *

Next is the final chapter: Chapter 25: A Source's Power Part 2. Get ready for the big finale and a cliffhanger ending! 


	25. A Source's Power Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own W.i.t.c.h.

Thanks to all those who didn't give up on me! Hope you like the final chapter!

* * *

**"A Guardian's Past"  
Chapter 25: "A Source's Power Part 2"**

Cornelia glanced down at her palms, then at the Heart. "Why'd you call me over here, Will? You know-"

"Regardless of your power, I need all of the team." Will spoke to everyone confidently. "I need all of you to put your power into the Heart. Mom, I need your team to do the same."

"Why?" Irma spoke up. "I know you're the leader and all, but..."

"Just trust me and do it. I... I know this will work." She released the Heart and allowed it to float above her open left palm. _It has to..._ She closed her eyes and waited for her friends' energy.

_Will, what are you thinking?_ Susan wondered as she did the same. The two teams shot their own magic into their leader's Hearts.

"Mom, when you feel it, you'll know it." Will spoke to her mother softly, her eyes still closed. "We're going to combine our Hearts at that moment and... and defeat Dalthar once and for all."

Susan nodded and opened her eyes. "Ready, Will?"

Will opened her eyes and turned to the older woman. She smiled with a glow in her eye. "Ready."

They pushed the crystal pendants together and they all were engulfed in a pink explosion of energy.

"...Heart!"

----------

Will opened her eyes suddenly to see the pink ceiling of her bedroom. Her green stuffed frog was laying on its back to her left against the wall. "Wha..."

She sprang up in her bed and threw the covers in the corner and flew out her door. "Dalthar... Mom, what happened to-" She stopped as she stepped into the kitchen to see her mother, as well as the others all at the table.

"Dalthar?" Susan smiled. "He's gone. You did it, Will."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I ever doubted you!" Irma stood up and walked over to her friend.

"Your idea was great, Will!" Hay Lin approached Will with a smile. Taranee and Cornelia did the same.

Will looked over at each of her friends, then glanced at her mother. "Hold on a minute! What happened back there?"

"We don't know." Susan shook her head. "I remember us joining our Hearts and then... we were in our beds in our own homes. I just have a feeling that Dalthar was defeated." She grinned.

"Everyone fell out and the Oracle transported us all here to Heatherfield." Elyon responded. "That's all I saw through the light."

"There is just one problem." Theresa said quietly and looked at Susan. "Susan can't summon her Heart."

"What? Really, Mom?" Will gasped and jerked her head at her mother.

The woman nodded solemnly.

"Then... what about me?" Will opened her left palm and her Heart appeared, shining brighter than before. Everyone instinctively shielded their eyes. "What in the-"

"Don't worry, we'll explain." a gentle voice suddenly said.

"Grandma!" Hay Lin exclaimed. Yan Lin smiled as she folded her arms and the Oracle appeared beside her in front of the main door.

The Oracle nodded. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate you Guardians on defeating Dalthar."

"You can't give us all the credit. It was Will's idea." Susan protested.

Yan Lin shook her head. "You all helped. Your team couldn't have defeated the enemy alone, Susan. You're not as powerful as you were when you were their age."

Susan sighed and hung her head. "You don't have to remind me, Yan Lin." She looked up at the Oracle. "Wait, so what happened to my Heart? Did you take it back?"

The Oracle shook his head slowly. "The two Hearts are now one, Susan. And yes, you can still transform, you just need Will to do so, just as the girls do."

"I see..." She said to herself. _At least... we'll still have our powers again in case they need extra help.  
_  
"Oracle, did... did you really help us?" Anne asked nervously. "I mean..."

Yan Lin look at the older Earth Guardian silently then nodded. "Yes. After Will and Susan merged the Hearts, you had no energy left, even Cornelia didn't. She had used up some of her power with the vines. The Oracle and I saw that the combined Heart was enough to finally defeat Dalthar, but that it also drained you. We transported you back to your homes."

"Matt, Nigel, come here." The man spoke silently, but sternly.

"Wait, Oracle!" Will ran up beside Matt before he stook up. "Do they have to forget about this? I mean, I know they were told without me knowing, but..."

"Oracle, I agree with Will on this." Theresa said, looking at the man. "I'll admit, at first I wasn't fond of Nigel, but... but after seeing him protect Taranee like he did during the battle..."

The Oracle didn't respond to their protests or made any move to let them know he heard them as the two boys stood up and nervously approached the man. "Matt Olsen, Nigel Rivers... your bravery today impressed me." He smiled gently. "Because of that bravery, I will allow you to remain as you are if you choose to do so."

"What... do you mean?" Will breathed.

Yan Lin smiled knowingly. "It means they will be able to remember what happened today if they want to."

Will's uncertain expression quickly turned to joy as she jumped at Matt and hugged him. "Of course they want to remember... Don't you?"

Matt nodded, grinning. Taranee tried to hide her smile when Nigel agree with Matt, but her mother saw it and smirked. "You don't have to hide it, Taranee. Now you and Will don't have to hide anything from your boyfriends."

"Mom!!"

"Mrs. Cook!!"

----------

Will sat at the kitchen table as her mother lay a big black pot down. "Dinner is served."

"Thanks, Mom." Will met her mother's smile with her own. "I'm glad you cancelled on Mr. Collins."

"He understood. After all, you had a hard day. In the end, it came out good, though, right?" Susan slid out a chair and sat down.

Will nodded as she reached for a piece of chicked fromt he pot. "Yeah, it did. You, Matt and Nigel know about us, you were only testing me when you said we were moving, and Caleb is staying in Candracar to help out there. Our powers are back, we defeated Dalthar, and Elyon went back to Meridian safely. What could possible go wrong?"

----------

Luba stepped into the room silenlty, hoping nobody would stop her. She smirked as she looked over the five aurameres floating in front of her. The green one was twice as big as the other four and was radiated more energy.

She rubbed her hands together and approached the Earth auramere. _The girls got lucky this time since they had the previous Guardians... Alone they could never have done it. I'll show the Oracle once and for all that their friendship will fail..._ She outstretched her hands over the auramere with a smile on her face.

_...if it's the last thing I do._

* * *

It seems Will spoke too soon. And about Nigel's last name... I don't recall the books ever mentioning it, but if it does and anyone can tell me his real last name, please do so I can correct it. If it hasn't been mentioned, I'll just leave it as Rivers, although it's just a miniscule detail. 

The end of A Guardian's Past. And just so you know, the same thing that happened in the books won't happen in my story. That would be way too predictable. You'll just have to wait and find out in the sequel to A Guardian's Past! Keep an eye on my profile for updates.


End file.
